PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 2,370 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Darden Restaurants, acquiring an additional 2,370 shares in the 1st quarter, bringing its total ownership to approximately 63,900 shares valued at $13.28 million.
• Darden Restaurants announced a $1 billion share buyback plan, which allows the company to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.40 to $1.50, representing an annualized yield of 2.9% and showcasing its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 63,900 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 2,370 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned 0.05% of Darden Restaurants worth $13,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,001,000 after buying an additional 13,074 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 31.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,677 shares during the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $286,000. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 46.0% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 16,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,376,000 after acquiring an additional 5,119 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 162,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $33,728,000 after purchasing an additional 7,902 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 5,780 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.22, for a total value of $1,284,431.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 4,555 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,012,212.10. The trade was a 55.93% 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 13,569 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.45, for a total value of $2,937,010.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 46,327 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,027,479.15. This represents a 22.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,727 shares of company stock valued at $10,022,232. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.19.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of DRI traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.13. 956,882 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,150,169. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.50 and a 12-month high of $228.27. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $213.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.23. The firm has a market cap of $23.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.

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.