Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Picton Mahoney Asset Management

Picton Mahoney Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,070 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 40,815 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $4,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.0% during the third quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,488 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,455 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,207,000 after buying an additional 4,267 shares during the period. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter worth $2,855,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth $2,163,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 60.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.4%

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $206.31 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $205.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92%.Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho raised Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $195.00 to $235.00 in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Twenty investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $224.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were 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 directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,644.80. This trade represents a 42.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

About Darden Restaurants

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.