Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 3,185 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Core Viewpoint - Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in Q3, holding 139,005 shares valued at approximately $26.46 million after selling 3,185 shares [2] Institutional Holdings - Several hedge funds have significantly increased their positions in Darden Restaurants, with Marshall Wace LLP growing its stake by 820.4% to 706,416 shares valued at $153.98 million [3] - Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings by 45.2% to 1,917,398 shares worth $417.94 million [3] - Arrowstreet Capital increased its position by 192.6% to 880,765 shares valued at $191.98 million [3] - Norges Bank established a new position worth about $125.52 million [3] - AQR Capital Management raised its stake by 239.4% to 722,529 shares valued at $157.49 million [3] - Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden's stock [3] Insider Transactions - CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares at an average price of $214.12, totaling approximately $1.45 million, reducing his position by 42.84% [4] - Insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares at an average price of $213.00, totaling about $480,954, representing an 11.27% decrease in ownership [4] - Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,770 shares worth approximately $3.95 million, with corporate insiders owning 0.49% of the stock [4] Financial Performance - Darden Restaurants reported Q2 earnings of $2.08 per share, missing estimates by $0.02, with revenue of $3.10 billion, exceeding expectations of $3.07 billion [6] - Revenue increased by 7.3% year-over-year, with a return on equity of 52.44% and a net margin of 8.92% [6] - The company has set FY 2026 EPS guidance at $10.50 to $10.70, with analysts predicting an EPS of $9.52 for the current fiscal year [6] Dividend Information - Darden announced a quarterly dividend of $1.50, resulting in an annualized dividend of $6.00 and a dividend yield of 2.8% [7] - The payout ratio stands at 62.89% [7] Stock Performance and Valuation - Darden's shares opened at $216.28, with a market cap of $24.90 billion [5] - The company has a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67 and a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 [5] - The stock has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a high of $228.27 [5] Analyst Ratings and Price Targets - Analysts have varied ratings on Darden, with Stephens maintaining an "equal weight" rating and a target price of $205.00 [9] - Morgan Stanley reduced its price target from $238.00 to $236.00 while maintaining an "overweight" rating [9] - KeyCorp and Weiss Ratings have also provided positive ratings, with Weiss upgrading to "buy" [9] - The consensus rating is "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $224.78 [9]