Pathstone Holdings LLC Trims Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lowered its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,750 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $2,257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 34.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:DRI opened at $173.84 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $20.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $154.43. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $177.58.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.59%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. This represents a 59.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The trade was 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 worth $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $184.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.