Ricardo Cardenas Sells 39,134 Shares of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Key Points

• CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 Darden Restaurants shares at an average price of $209.06, generating about $8.18 million. His direct ownership fell 31.24% to 86,146 shares.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $3.66, slightly above the $3.63 consensus, while revenue rose 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion. Shares recently traded at $207.09, below the analyst consensus price target of $228.88.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share, equivalent to a $6.48 annualized payout and a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with 17 Buy ratings and 10 Holds.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total transaction of $8,181,354.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares in the company, valued at $18,009,682.76. This trade represents a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI stock traded down $5.14 on Thursday, reaching $207.09. The stock had a trading volume of 1,636,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,402,352. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $220.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's 50-day moving average is $203.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,190 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,144 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 15,983 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 44.8% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 1,308 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $240.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $228.88.

About Darden Restaurants

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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