Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $236,837.90 in Stock

Key Points

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Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,157 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.70, for a total value of $236,837.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,632 shares in the company, valued at $2,176,370.40. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock traded up $1.24 on Monday, reaching $204.73. The company had a trading volume of 124,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,153. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.10 and a 1 year high of $228.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $214.00 and its 200 day moving average is $203.07. The company has a market cap of $23.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 1.87 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $3.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.65 EPS. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, July 10th were paid a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 3.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Citigroup upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $245.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Melius began coverage on Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.19.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 44,463 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $9,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199 shares during the last quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 136.7% in the 2nd quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 823 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 29,655 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,464,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,955 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,478,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 29,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,442,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.