Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) Director William S. Simon sold 1,219 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.21, for a total value of $192,857.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $993,717.01. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.
Darden Restaurants Price Performance
Darden Restaurants stock opened at $158.30 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The company has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.23.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.94% and a net margin of 9.24%. Darden Restaurants's quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.
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Darden Restaurants announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.
Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 9th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
DRI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, December 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.85.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on DRI
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,373,923 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,911,012,000 after purchasing an additional 362,658 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 8,899,291 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,380,814,000 after buying an additional 455,588 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $369,070,000 after buying an additional 52,864 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,561,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $396,532,000 after buying an additional 54,085 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $328,006,000 after buying an additional 200,342 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Darden Restaurants Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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