<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of  Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 348.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor  owned 66,137 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 51,398 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.06% of Darden Restaurants worth $14,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>Darden Restaurants</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><ul><li>Beware the Death Cross: 3 Stocks Triggering This Spooky Signal</li></ul><p>Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of  Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $26,000.  True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of  Darden Restaurants by 419.2% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter.  Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of  Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000.  SouthState Corp bought a new position in shares of  Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000.  Finally, Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of  Darden Restaurants by 32.2% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. </p><h2>Darden Restaurants Price Performance</h2><p>Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $177.22 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $180.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $199.24. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $159.67 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The firm has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. </p><ul><li>Sprouts, Darden Offer High-Upside Setups for Risk-Takers</li></ul><p>Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.04). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 52.35% and a net margin of 8.90%.The firm had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS.  As a group, equities analysts expect that  Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year. </p><h2>Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend</h2><p>The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 64.31%. </p><h2>Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants</h2><ul><li>Darden Restaurants: A Textbook Buy-the-Dip Opportunity</li></ul><p>In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total value of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,691,354.40. This trade represents a 28.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. </p><h2>Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth</h2><p>DRI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $240.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $239.00 to $220.00 and set a &#34;buy&#34; rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Stephens  reiterated an &#34;equal weight&#34; rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an &#34;outperform&#34; rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $225.00 and set an &#34;overweight&#34; rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; and a consensus target price of $224.36.</p><p><b>View Our Latest Analysis on Darden Restaurants</b></p><h2>Darden Restaurants Company Profile</h2> (Free Report)<p>Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.</p><h2>See Also</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than Darden Restaurants</li><li>What Are the FAANG Stocks and Are They Good Investments?</li><li>Consumers Got Coal, But Santa Dropped Off Big Gains for These 2 Retailers</li><li>How Can Investors Benefit From After-Hours Trading</li><li>10X Gains? These 3 Robotics Stocks Could Explode by 2035</li><li>What Do S&amp;P 500 Stocks Tell Investors About the Market? </li><li>Anheuser-Busch Buys BeatBox to Win Over Younger Drinkers</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPURSSQ?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="650" height="350" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/SECFilingChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPURSSQ"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in Darden Restaurants Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider Darden Restaurants, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Darden Restaurants wasn't on the list.</p><p>While Darden Restaurants currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 348.7% in Q2, acquiring 51,398 additional shares, totaling 66,137 shares worth $14,416,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of Darden's stock. Darden's stock opened at $177.22, with a market cap of $20.61 billion. The company reported Q2 earnings of $1.97 per share, missing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50 per share.</p>

Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 51,398 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI