Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 4,252 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,242 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,252 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Midwest Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth about $2,441,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $9,275,000 after buying an additional 4,804 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 19.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 23,352 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,090,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares during the last quarter. Capital Management Associates Inc purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $795,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,983,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 5,661 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.40, for a total transaction of $1,094,837.40. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,691,354.40. This represents a 28.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $189.36 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $22.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.85, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $180.36 and its 200 day moving average is $197.51. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday. Bank of America upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $253.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Barclays decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $255.00 to $230.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $223.75.

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.