Insider Selling: Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells $981,488.20 in Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 5,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total transaction of $981,488.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 3,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $659,601.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.8 %

DRI opened at $166.59 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $133.36 and a 1-year high of $176.84.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Darden Restaurants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $180.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus dropped their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

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.