FineMark National Bank & Trust Lowers Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

FineMark National Bank & Trust reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 94.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,491 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 23,482 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $31,000. Union Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction 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. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $157.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $154.07. The stock has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.58 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were given a $1.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.50.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.