Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) Shares Gap Up After Dividend Announcement

Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock had previously closed at $159.14, but opened at $173.51. Darden Restaurants shares last traded at $169.20, with a volume of 635,457 shares changing hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be paid a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.29. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on DRI. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $175.00 to $188.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $159.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Argus lowered their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $186.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.28.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $20.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 19th. The restaurant operator reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.80 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 49.82%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 447 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Darden Restaurants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 1st quarter valued at about $72,901,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth $58,601,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 71.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 696,176 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $105,345,000 after purchasing an additional 289,876 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 139.9% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 352,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $53,317,000 after buying an additional 205,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Darden Restaurants by 81.2% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,125,000 after buying an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

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.