Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $286,552.00 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total transaction of $286,552.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at $917,448. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $168.03 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $152.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.28. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced 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 net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. 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 firm posted $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company 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 is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $58,601,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 764 shares during the period. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196,773 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,330,000 after buying an additional 2,146 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

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.