Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Shares Sold by Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH

Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH trimmed its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,088 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded up $2.25 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $143.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,190,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,230,471. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.29. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $146.83 and its 200-day moving average is $155.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider R Broad Matthew 5,171 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

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.