Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Given New $190.00 Price Target at TD Securities

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at TD Securities from $180.00 to $190.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "hold" rating on the restaurant operator's stock. TD Securities' price target indicates a potential downside of 9.05% from the company's previous close.

DRI has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 price objective on the stock. One equities 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.5 %

DRI stock traded up $8.98 on Friday, hitting $208.91. 991,939 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,242,689. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $192.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.37. Darden Restaurants has a 12-month low of $135.87 and a 12-month high of $210.31. The stock has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.80. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.22 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were 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 owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. The trade was a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares in the company, valued at $8,472,092.64. This trade represents a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 7.7% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,437 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at about $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth about $15,175,000. 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.