Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Price Target Raised to $217.00 at Morgan Stanley

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $209.00 to $217.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator's stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on DRI. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $183.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.08.

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Darden Restaurants Stock Up 4.5 %

DRI traded up $8.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $208.91. 991,939 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,227,342. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $192.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.85. Darden Restaurants has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $210.47. The company has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.27. 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 (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.80. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Darden Restaurants's revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.40 per share. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 10th. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 64.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Darden Restaurants

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Todd Burrowes sold 15,783 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.03, for a total transaction of $2,888,762.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,472,092.64. The trade was a 25.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $843,433.56. This represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,698 shares of company stock worth $8,536,729 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted 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 valued at $32,357,000 after acquiring an additional 12,434 shares during the period. 111 Capital bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,225,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,553 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $322,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $15,175,000. 93.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Darden Restaurants

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.