Prudential Financial Inc. Has $131 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. by 2.1% in the second quarter, owning 600,989 shares valued at $131 million. Other hedge funds also adjusted their positions in Darden. Insider trading activity included SVP Matthew R. Broad selling shares. Analysts have mixed ratings on Darden, with a consensus "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $225.82. Darden's stock opened at $174.46, with a market cap of $20.29 billion.

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 600,989 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 12,165 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.52% of Darden Restaurants worth $130,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Bowman & Co S.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bowman & Co S.C. now owns 9,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 32.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 201 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% during the second quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. The trade was a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Sprouts, Darden Offer High-Upside Setups for Risk-Takers

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $260.00 to $220.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $208.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $200.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 19th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.82.

View Our Latest Research Report on Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.1%

Darden Restaurants: A Textbook Buy-the-Dip Opportunity

DRI stock opened at $174.46 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $184.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $201.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $159.67 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 18th. The restaurant operator reported $1.97 EPS 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 business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.31%.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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