Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 10.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,999 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,945 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $8,037,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. The trade was 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 Up 0.1%

DRI stock opened at $195.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $202.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.56. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $220.65.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Citigroup increased their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Evercore downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $230.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.