Korea Investment CORP Raises Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 71,311 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $13,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 46.3% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $402,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.6% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 19,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,236 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,804 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $203.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $207.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.76. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.10 by ($0.02). The company 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 for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a $1.50 dividend. 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 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 over the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on DRI. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Melius Research raised Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Twenty analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.33.

Darden Restaurants 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.