AMG National Trust Bank Purchases 2,732 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

AMG National Trust Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 135.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,750 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,732 shares during the quarter. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $195.99 on Thursday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $220.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $202.72 and a 200-day moving average of $202.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.88.

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.