Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells 300 Shares of Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Lindsay Koren sold 300 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at approximately $314,215.44. This trade represents a 15.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $4.77 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $195.40. 1,265,255 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,526,877. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $205.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 53.54% and a net margin of 8.66%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.80 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 63.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DRI shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.24.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.