Darden (DRI) CEO Ricardo Cardenas Exercises Options, Sells Shares

What Happened

• Ricardo Cardenas, President & CEO and a Director of Darden Restaurants (DRI), exercised options and executed multiple open‑market sales on July 28, 2026, and received equity awards on July 29, 2026. He exercised 19,091 option shares at a strike price of $124.24 (cash paid ~$2,371,866). On July 28 he sold 3,801, 7,241, 12,802 and 15,290 shares in separate trades (total 39,134 shares) at weighted‑average prices around $208.79–$209.58 for aggregate proceeds of approximately $8,181,504. The filing also reports a related derivative disposition of 19,091 shares (reported at $0). On July 29 he was granted awards equal to 12,792 and 37,735 restricted stock units (total 50,527 RSUs, reported as $0 acquisition).
• These transactions show option exercise combined with substantial open‑market sales (often consistent with cashless exercises or portfolio rebalancing) and new RSU grants. The filing is factual and does not state his motivation.

Key Details

• Dates: Exercises and sales on 2026-07-28; RSU grants on 2026-07-29. Filing date: 2026-07-30 (appears timely).
• Exercise: 19,091 shares exercised at $124.24 each = $2,371,866 paid.
• Sales: 39,134 shares sold in multiple trades at weighted‑average prices (~$208.79–$209.58); total proceeds ≈ $8,181,504. (Footnotes F2–F5 list the trade price ranges for the multiple executions.)
• Awards: 50,527 RSUs granted (12,792 + 37,735); RSUs convert one‑for‑one to shares per footnote F7.
• Vesting notes: relevant option vesting schedules are noted in footnotes (F6, F8). Footnote F1 references ESPP/dividend reinvestment for other plan activity.
• Shares owned after transaction: not specified in the excerpt provided.
• Timeliness: Filing date vs transaction dates suggests the Form 4 was filed within the normal reporting window.

Context

• For retail investors: exercising options + immediate sales often indicate a cashless exercise or tax/lot covering rather than a directional bet on the stock. The simultaneous grant of RSUs is a common element of executive compensation and is not itself a market signal of buying/selling intent.
• Derivative/RSU explanation: "M" entries denote option exercise/conversion; "A" entries denote awards/grants (RSUs convert 1-for-1). The reported zero ($0) amounts for some derivative dispositions and grants reflect how those items are reported, not free value.