Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP John W. Madonna Sells 1,806 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,072.96. This trade represents a 20.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $204.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $211.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $194.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Impact Investors Inc purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth $405,000. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 14,912 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 146,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $27,343,000 after purchasing an additional 4,543 shares during the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 87,702 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,373,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 32,853 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,133,000 after buying an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $183.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

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.