Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 1,782 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Pathstone Holdings LLC cut its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in 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 buying an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during 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 boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% in 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 3,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.43, for a total value of $542,587.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,005,911.65. The trade was a 35.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 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. Insiders sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8 %

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

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.