Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CEO Sells $4,271,642.42 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This represents a 25.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $204.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $135.87 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $194.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $178.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is 63.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.