Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Hits New 52-Week High Following Dividend Announcement

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $188.82 and last traded at $185.67, with a volume of 897627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $159.87.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.60.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 2.3 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $166.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 23.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Nana Mensah sold 1,171 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.90, for a total value of $201,294.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10 shares in the company, valued at $1,719. The trade was a 99.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,265 shares of company stock valued at $10,116,030. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the third quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.