Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) SVP Sells 1,806 Shares

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) SVP John W. Madonna sold 1,806 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was 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 $1,495,072.96. This represents a 20.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded up $2.92 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $208.05. 1,556,038 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,276,892. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $194.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.87 and a 52 week high of $211.00.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

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Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 10th will be given a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.13%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DRI. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth about $642,967,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth about $75,137,000. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,919,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the third quarter valued at about $40,048,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 385,029 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $71,883,000 after buying an additional 227,977 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $218.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. TD Securities increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wedbush upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.08.

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.