Morgan Stanley Increases Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target to $188.00

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $188.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on DRI. Jefferies Financial Group cut Darden Restaurants from a hold rating to an underperform rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $163.00 to $159.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $172.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Darden Restaurants has a 52-week low of $133.36 and a 52-week high of $176.84. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Darden Restaurants will post 9.47 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total value of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,308,144 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $349,268,000 after acquiring an additional 105,433 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 10.3% in the fourth 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 raised its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 1,418,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $233,075,000 after buying an additional 6,968 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 13.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,141,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $172,811,000 after purchasing an additional 132,643 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.