Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Laura B. Williamson Sells 523 Shares

Key Points

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Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 523 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.65, for a total value of $107,031.95. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,423 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,109,816.95. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $204.73. The company had a trading volume of 124,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,350,153. The company has a market capitalization of $23.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.92. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $214.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $203.07. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.10 and a twelve month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.65 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is 67.57%.

Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, June 20th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 3.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Grove Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 171.4% in the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 108.8% in the 1st quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 142 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, SouthState Corp acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on DRI. KeyCorp increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Barclays upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $252.00 to $253.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.19.

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.