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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded down $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $185.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,047,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,155,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $189.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stephens upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.52.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.