Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Sells $474,418.14 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 2,289 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.26, for a total transaction of $474,418.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,056 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,084,206.56. This represents a 18.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded down $3.10 during trading on Friday, reaching $204.89. The stock had a trading volume of 797,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,274,576. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $194.15 and its 200 day moving average is $177.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DRI shares. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 103.2% during the fourth quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.