Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 4,707 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total value of $734,998.05. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 19,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,994,800.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Darden Restaurants Stock Performance
NYSE:DRI opened at $156.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.63 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.25.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The restaurant operator reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.63 by ($0.01). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.24% and a return on equity of 49.94%. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.34 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 8.85 EPS for the current year.
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Darden Restaurants declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.31 per share. This represents a $5.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 9th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.43%.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,576,948 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $369,070,000 after acquiring an additional 52,864 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 9.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,290,224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $328,006,000 after acquiring an additional 200,342 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 11.9% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,202,711 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $368,183,000 after acquiring an additional 234,410 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $297,244,000 after acquiring an additional 169,642 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,669,789 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $239,148,000 after acquiring an additional 202,139 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research firms have commented on DRI. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush reduced their target price on Darden Restaurants from $187.00 to $181.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.85.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Darden Restaurants
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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