Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $2,344,283.46 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Darden Restaurants stock traded down $1.85 on Wednesday, hitting $146.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,829,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,219,274. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.21 and a 200 day moving average of $156.40. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be issued a dividend of $1.29 per share. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on DRI. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $170.95.

About Darden Restaurants

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.