Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells 12,759 Shares of Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 14,328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $186.22 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $177.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.06. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.03. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.84 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $269,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 27.9% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 28,655 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,336,000 after buying an additional 6,258 shares during the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 42.3% during the second quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 2,056 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.5% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 71,767 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,860,000 after buying an additional 1,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 322.9% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 13,710 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,075,000 after buying an additional 10,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on DRI. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.52.

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.