Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $2,390,653.83 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total value of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. The trade was a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $189.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $177.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.84 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 9.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 697 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 11.4% during the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,833 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $629,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.52.

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.