Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $2,888,762.49 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $181.06. The company had a trading volume of 880,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,285. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $175.00 and its 200-day moving average is $161.47. The stock has a market cap of $21.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 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.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $868,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $275,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 29,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,471,000 after buying an additional 3,911 shares in the last quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Saxon Interests Inc. now owns 4,782 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Retireful LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,586,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $189.12.

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.