Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $188.15, but opened at $198.41. Darden Restaurants shares last traded at $200.83, with a volume of 399,776 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.36.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $192.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $176.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $23.42 billion, a PE ratio of 22.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Investors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth about $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after buying an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after buying an additional 4,543 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.