Matthew R. Broad Sells 12,759 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Matthew R. Broad sold 12,759 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.37, for a total transaction of $2,390,653.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 14,328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,684,637.36. This trade represents a 47.10 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $186.22 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $177.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $189.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.82 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.84 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is 64.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $75,000. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC grew its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 12,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,275,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Ibex Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $443,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $221,000. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.52.

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.