Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $176.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its price target lifted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $176.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on DRI. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $191.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and cut their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of DRI opened at $170.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $150.90 and a 200-day moving average of $153.19. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $133.36 and a one year high of $176.84. The company has a market cap of $20.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Activity at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total transaction of $352,725.00. Following 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,809,155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,244,000 after purchasing an additional 169,642 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,591,541 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $240,832,000 after purchasing an additional 18,899 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,075,000 after purchasing an additional 6,968 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $172,811,000 after acquiring an additional 132,643 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.