Rajesh Vennam Sells 7,228 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,864,708.02. The trade was a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Darden Restaurants stock opened at $187.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $169.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.55. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $189.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.35.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly 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. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on DRI shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $192.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,707,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $772,635,000 after purchasing an additional 26,601 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $587,638,000 after purchasing an additional 123,900 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,806,113 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $459,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,497 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,352,608 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,133,000 after purchasing an additional 44,464 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.