Laura B. Williamson Sells 1,666 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) insider Laura B. Williamson sold 1,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $286,552.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,448. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $167.95 on Friday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $133.36 and a 12-month high of $176.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $152.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The business had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.78 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $4,216,000. Farmers National Bank increased its position in Darden Restaurants by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers National Bank now owns 3,515 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth $1,856,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 71,780 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,862,000 after buying an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 5.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on DRI shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 21st. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

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.