Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,798 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,142 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $3,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ZRC Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $171.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.18. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 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 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants 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 value of $352,725.00. Following 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

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.