Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $489,900.00 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Melvin John Martin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.30, for a total value of $489,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,057,743.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Melvin John Martin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, September 27th, Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total value of $334,460.00.
• On Thursday, July 25th, Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $155.93 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.36 and a 1 year high of $176.84. 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 fifty day moving average is $156.53 and its 200-day moving average is $152.73. The stock has a market cap of $18.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its 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 the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the first quarter valued at $72,901,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 71.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,345,000 after buying an additional 289,876 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after buying an additional 204,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.