Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $236,837.90 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total transaction of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI opened at $203.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $202.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The company has a market cap of $23.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.10 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

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 company had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Melius Research upgraded Darden Restaurants to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% during the 1st quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.