Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Declares $1.50 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• Darden declared a $1.50 quarterly dividend payable May 1 to shareholders of record on April 10 (ex-dividend April 10), implying a $6.00 annualized payout and a yield of about 2.9%, with a payout ratio near 52% that suggests the dividend is covered by earnings.
• Quarterly results slightly beat estimates: Darden reported $2.95 EPS vs. $2.94 expected and $3.35 billion in revenue vs. $3.33 billion, with revenue up 5.9% year-over-year, and the stock traded up roughly 1.6% to about $204 intraday.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a dividend of 1.50 per share by the restaurant operator on Friday, May 1st. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th.

Darden Restaurants has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 4 consecutive years. Darden Restaurants has a payout ratio of 52.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Darden Restaurants to earn $10.64 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $6.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 56.4%.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $3.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $203.96. 3,283,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,318,123. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $194.68. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The business had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In other news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total value of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 17,784 shares in the company, valued at $3,787,992. This trade represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total value of $546,393.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $849,761.28. This represents a 39.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 98.5% during the third quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 64,118 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $12,206,000 after buying an additional 31,815 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 164.1% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 3,027 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,536,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,816,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $507,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,171,890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden's restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand's positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.

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