Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Position Increased by Lion Street Advisors LLC

Lion Street Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 186.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,370 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,341 shares during the quarter. Darden Restaurants accounts for approximately 3.5% of Lion Street Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Lion Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $507,675,000 after buying an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 820.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 706,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $153,977,000 after purchasing an additional 629,669 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 45.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,917,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $417,935,000 after purchasing an additional 596,863 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 192.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 880,765 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $191,980,000 after buying an additional 579,759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $125,521,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 2.0%

DRI opened at $217.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $201.77 and a 200-day moving average of $194.59.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.The firm’s revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.