Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. Has $468,000 Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 42.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,850 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DRI. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 29.5% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 923 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $61,959,000 after acquiring an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 8.9% in the third quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 12,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,979,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,448. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,719. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,206 shares of company stock worth $12,460,313 in the last ninety days. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Darden Restaurants stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $162.03. The company had a trading volume of 193,328 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,228,955. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.06, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $159.88 and a 200 day moving average of $152.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $164.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, October 14th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $180.13.

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.