Susan M. Connelly Sells 9,264 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $183.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $160.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.87 and a 1 year high of $189.18.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on DRI. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $206.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $189.12.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter worth $30,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1,690.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 395.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. 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.