Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Jr. Sells Off Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. (R-Pennsylvania) recently sold shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. NYSE: DRI. In a filing disclosed on February 13th, the Representative disclosed that they had sold between $1,001 and $15,000 in Darden Restaurants stock on January 13th. The trade occurred in the Representative's "JOINT OWNERSHIP LPL ACCOUNT" account.

Representative Robert Bresnahan, Jr. also recently made the following trade(s):

• Sold $15,001 - $50,000 in shares of Lowe's Companies NYSE: LOW on 2/7/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of ServiceNow NYSE: NOW on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Take-Two Interactive Software NASDAQ: TTWO on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Intel NASDAQ: INTC on 2/3/2025.
• Purchased $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Alibaba Group NYSE: BABA on 1/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Microsoft NASDAQ: MSFT on 1/30/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Robinhood Markets NASDAQ: HOOD on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of NVIDIA NASDAQ: NVDA on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Manhattan Associates NASDAQ: MANH on 1/29/2025.
• Sold $1,001 - $15,000 in shares of Credo Technology Group NASDAQ: CRDO on 1/29/2025.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.9 %

DRI traded up $7.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.74. 405,091 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,043,821. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $201.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $185.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $169.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.84 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,454,356,000 after buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,750,658 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $700,210,000 after purchasing an additional 170,336 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $642,967,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after buying an additional 39,189 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.52.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 in the last 90 days. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Representative Bresnahan

Rob Bresnahan Jr. (Republican Party) is a member of the U.S. House, representing Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District. He assumed office on January 3, 2025. His current term ends on January 3, 2027. Bresnahan (Republican Party) is running for re-election to the U.S. House to represent Pennsylvania's 8th Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election. Rob Bresnahan Jr. was born in Kingston, Pennsylvania. He earned a B.S. in business administration, management and operations from the University of Scranton in 2012. His career experience includes working as the chief financial officer and CEO of a family business, an electrical contracting company.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.