Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $203.09 and last traded at $200.13, with a volume of 69852 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $200.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $209.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lifted their target price on Darden Restaurants from $164.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $190.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The company had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. Darden Restaurants's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total value of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares in the company, valued at $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last ninety days. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,454,356,000 after purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $642,967,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $75,137,000. Finally, Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $48,919,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.