Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $188.15, but opened at $198.41. Darden Restaurants shares last traded at $200.83, with a volume of 399,776 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DRI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 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. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $175.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $193.33.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $23.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $191.67 and its 200 day moving average is $176.31. 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 (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The business had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total transaction of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock valued at $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 173,318 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares in the last quarter. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,175,000. 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.