Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 60.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 37,801 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 57,178 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $7,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 80,001 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,438,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $200,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the second quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 2,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,151,000 after purchasing an additional 2,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 5.9% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,183 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $227.04.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $213.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.88. The company has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The firm had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. This trade represents a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Darden Restaurants

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

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.