Ricardo Cardenas Sells 42,403 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) Stock

by · The Markets Daily

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 42,403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.68, for a total value of $7,279,747.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 58,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,075,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1 %

DRI opened at $167.95 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $152.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $133.36 and a twelve month high of $176.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $2.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 49.46%. Darden Restaurants’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a $1.40 dividend. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.73%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Rise Advisors LLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. ESL Trust Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $170.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $150.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $188.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, September 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.25.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on DRI

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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