John Wilkerson Sells 8,864 Shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Key Points

• Insider sale: John Wilkerson sold 8,864 Darden Restaurants shares for approximately $1.85 million, reducing his ownership by 32.05% to 18,794 shares.
• Strong operating results: Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, slightly above estimates, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. The company guided to fiscal 2027 EPS of $11.10–$11.35.
• Dividend and analyst support: Darden raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62, equating to a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $228.88, above the reported share price of $212.40.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) insider John Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $1,846,637.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 18,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. This represents a 32.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.7%

DRI traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $212.40. 128,141 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,385,241. The firm's fifty day moving average is $203.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.05. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $220.65. The company has a market cap of $24.23 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were issued a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This is an increase 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 62.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on DRI shares. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Stephens upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $272.00 to $276.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $228.88.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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