Douglas J. Milanes Sells 5,705 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $981,488.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of DRI stock opened at $166.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The business’s fifty day moving average is $153.39 and its 200 day moving average is $153.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.46% and a net margin of 9.11%. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 65.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $4,216,000. Farmers National Bank increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% in the second quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $1,856,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 71,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,862,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.25.

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.