Matthew R. Broad Sells 733 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,139,189.50. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $220.27 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $211.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market cap of $25.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.72%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DRI. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $830,666,000 after acquiring an additional 247,542 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Darden Restaurants by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $530,121,000 after purchasing an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $300,446,000 after purchasing an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $269,117,000 after purchasing an additional 158,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.