Matthew R. Broad Sells 4,707 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 19,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $156.10. 886,050 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,146,570. The company has a current ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.23.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, March 21st that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.85.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 55.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,168,604 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $167,359,000 after buying an additional 418,860 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,601,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,602,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $229,516,000 after buying an additional 340,467 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 129.6% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 553,721 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $90,976,000 after buying an additional 312,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,321,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

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.