PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,533 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,957 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $10,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 32.1% in the 2nd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 910 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 57.8% in the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.1% in the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $31,957,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $216.72 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.72, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.64. The business’s 50 day moving average is $200.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.37. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.03 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.89%.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This trade represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 7,103 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.12, for a total value of $1,471,173.36. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 44,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,165,474.24. This trade represents a 13.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock valued at $3,948,970. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $205.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $207.00 target price (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.78.

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.