Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $981,488.20 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares in the company, valued at $659,601.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.1 %

DRI stock opened at $167.95 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $152.92 and its 200-day moving average is $153.39.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,601,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,117 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 3,516 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,341 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 196,773 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.