Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Bought by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,530 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,788 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $11,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $830,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $6,142,000. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $642,967,000. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 11,247 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,100,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total transaction of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,914 shares in the company, valued at $766,948.30. This represents a 66.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $189.14 on Wednesday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $203.12. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $191.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.03. The firm has a market cap of $22.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on DRI shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.52.

About Darden Restaurants

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.