Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas Sells 20,518 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 20,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.19, for a total transaction of $4,271,642.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 58,836 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of DRI traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $207.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 941,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,241,847. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.29 billion, a PE ratio of 23.75, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.87 and a twelve month high of $210.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $193.09 and a 200-day moving average of $177.56.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 50.12% and a net margin of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DRI shares. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Bank of America increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $48,919,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,048,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,883,000 after purchasing an additional 227,977 shares during the last quarter. 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.