AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 7,212 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 7,212 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $32,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 15,161,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,790,128,000 after acquiring an additional 322,079 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,063,355 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,587,939,000 after acquiring an additional 43,965 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,189,868 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $771,020,000 after purchasing an additional 68,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,918,165 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $537,001,000 after purchasing an additional 251,246 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Darden Restaurants News

Here are the key news stories impacting Darden Restaurants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer reaffirmed an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $235, suggesting meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects earnings growth in Darden’s upcoming quarterly report, and Zacks said the company appears positioned for a potential earnings beat, which can support the stock ahead of results. Zacks
• Neutral Sentiment: MarketWatch noted Darden’s shares rose in Thursday trading, but the stock still lagged the broader market, indicating only modest momentum rather than a clear catalyst-driven move. MarketWatch
• Neutral Sentiment: Several recent analyst and preview articles highlight that investors are awaiting Darden’s fiscal Q4 results and are focused on operating metrics beyond revenue and EPS, but these pieces are more about positioning than a new fundamental development. The Globe and Mail
• Negative Sentiment: Stephens reaffirmed an Equal Weight rating with a $210 target, implying limited downside/upside from current levels and reflecting a more cautious stance than bullish peers. Tickerreport.com

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $213.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.70. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.80 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.04.

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.