Analysts Set Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Price Target at $201.38

Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $201.38.

DRI has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $223.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of DRI traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.26. 41,628 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,264,166. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.93. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $211.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $195.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37.

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Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 directly owns 58,836 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,249,066.84. This trade represents a 25.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.88, for a total value of $375,431.28. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,072.96. The trade was a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,264 shares of company stock valued at $9,058,583. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. TCTC Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 50.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 175 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 296.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.