Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $160,160.50 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 733 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.50, for a total transaction of $160,160.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 14,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,139,189.50. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $220.27. 604,934 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,349,187. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $211.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $199.08. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.87 and a 52-week high of $228.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.78 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.42 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 51.81% and a net margin of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 6.6% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,998,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $830,666,000 after buying an additional 247,542 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 3,601,340 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $748,215,000 after acquiring an additional 157,305 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,845,302 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $530,121,000 after acquiring an additional 39,189 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,609,329 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $300,446,000 after acquiring an additional 4,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,441,518 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $269,117,000 after acquiring an additional 158,168 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.60.

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.