Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $375,431.28 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE DRI opened at $204.89 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $194.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Raymond James boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 13,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,497,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,401 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,019,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.