Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $2,344,283.46 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock opened at $144.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $133.36 and a fifty-two week high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $147.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.16.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $349,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $262,867,000 after purchasing an additional 82,356 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $152,066,000 after buying an additional 26,081 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.