Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sarah H. King Sells 15,941 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.9 %

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $144.03 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.05 and a 200-day moving average of $156.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 16.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.29.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be paid a $1.29 dividend. This represents a $5.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 65.73%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after purchasing an additional 105,433 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after buying an additional 169,642 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,572,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $262,867,000 after acquiring an additional 82,356 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after acquiring an additional 6,968 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 2.7% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 1,004,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $152,066,000 after acquiring an additional 26,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BTIG Research raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $175.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $167.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $191.00 to $192.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Argus dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $170.95.

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.