PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 1,755 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,742 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,755 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $9,805,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after acquiring an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the second quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after purchasing an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after purchasing an additional 204,832 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of DRI opened at $167.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.80 and a 200 day moving average of $154.13. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.87 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.34%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $180.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total transaction of $542,587.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares in the company, valued at $1,005,911.65. This represents a 35.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total transaction of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,075,040.80. This trade represents a 41.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.