Rep. Josh Gottheimer Sells Off Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Representative Josh Gottheimer (Democratic-New Jersey) recently sold shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI). In a filing disclosed on May 19th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $15,001 and $50,000 in Darden Restaurants stock on April 9th. The trade occurred in the Representative’s “MORGAN STANLEY – ACTIVE ASSET ACCOUNT # 3” account.

Representative Josh Gottheimer also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) on 4/28/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) on 4/27/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of ServiceNow (NYSE:NOW) on 4/24/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) on 4/24/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) on 4/23/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) on 4/16/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) on 4/15/2026.
• Sold $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB) on 4/13/2026.
• Purchased $1,001 – $15,000 in shares of Intapp (NASDAQ:INTA) on 4/13/2026.
• Sold $15,001 – $50,000 in shares of Tractor Supply (NASDAQ:TSCO) on 4/9/2026.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.8%

DRI stock opened at $197.29 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $197.81 and its 200 day moving average is $195.47. The firm has a market cap of $22.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $261.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.24.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This represents a 92.96% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

About Representative Gottheimer

Josh Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2017. His current term ends on January 3, 2027.

Gottheimer (Democratic Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent New Jersey’s 5th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.

Gottheimer is also running for election for Governor of New Jersey. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on June 10, 2025.

Gottheimer attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree. He became a Thouron Fellow at Oxford and attended Harvard Law School. Gottheimer worked as a speech writer under former President Bill Clinton (D), assisting with two State of the Union addresses, among other projects. Before running for Congress, he worked for Microsoft as a general manager for corporate strategy.

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.