Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) CFO Sells $1,780,380.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Darden CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares at $210 each for approximately $1.78 million, reducing his direct stake by 49.73% to 8,569 shares.
• Darden shares fell 2.4% to $207.09, despite quarterly EPS of $3.66 topping estimates and revenue rising 13.7% year over year; the company guided to fiscal 2027 EPS of $11.10–$11.35.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62, implying an annualized payout of $6.48 and a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $1,780,380.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 8,569 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,799,490. This trade represents a 49.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $5.14 on Thursday, reaching $207.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,636,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,402,352. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $203.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.15. The firm has a market cap of $23.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $220.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on DRI. BTIG Research increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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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