Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Insider Melvin John Martin Sells 2,500 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.27. 1,163,596 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,213,411. The stock has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.77. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $133.36 and a 12 month high of $176.84.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.61 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.58 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 11th will be given a dividend of $1.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $5.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen lowered Darden Restaurants from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $150.00 in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Argus decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $176.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $175.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Friday, June 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $170.95.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DRI. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 65.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.