Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $2,047,665.30 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan Connelly sold 9,930 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE DRI traded down $3.28 on Wednesday, reaching $201.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,739,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,398,565. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.16. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $220.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 57.44% and a net margin of 9.13%.The company’s revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.98 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.80%.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Union Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.32.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.