Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells 11,948 Shares of Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 11,948 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.08, for a total value of $2,653,411.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,645.76. This represents a 98.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.6%

DRI stock traded down $1.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $216.21. 531,938 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,332,060. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $209.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.98. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $228.27. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.75.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.01. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 51.81%. The company had revenue of $3.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.65 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, June 20th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $405,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 358,891 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,001,000 after purchasing an additional 13,074 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $286,000. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 12,882 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,405,000 after buying an additional 1,720 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $224.60.

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.

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