Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,000 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.23, for a total transaction of $334,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,602,433.26. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Melvin John Martin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 25th, Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE DRI opened at $162.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $192.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.