Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,533 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,957 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. GAM Holding AG raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 6,975 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,520,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.7% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 7,177 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the second quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 1,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.7% during the third quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,285 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $625,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, apricus wealth LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 5.2% during the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 1,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $216.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $228.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $200.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.37. The stock has a market cap of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.64.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business’s revenue was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 target price (down from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $224.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 6,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.12, for a total transaction of $1,450,448.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 9,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,935,644.80. The trade was a 42.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970 in the last ninety days. 0.49% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.