Parallel Advisors LLC Sells 89 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Parallel Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,976 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 89 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $159.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.35. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Darden Restaurants 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,649,483.19. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $177.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.18.

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.