Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Todd Burrowes Sells 15,783 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,472,092.64. This represents a 25.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.5 %

DRI stock opened at $181.06 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.31. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two week high of $189.18. The business has a 50-day moving average of $175.00 and a 200-day moving average of $161.47.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DRI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $189.12.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.3% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. 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.