Darden Restaurants (NYSE: DRI) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share, or $2 annualized. This is a 9.1% decrease from the prior dividend of $0.55. The dividend is a 14% increase compared to the minimum quarterly dividend of $0.4375 disclosed on November 9, 2015. The dividend will be payable on February 1, 2016, to stockholders of record on January 8, 2016, with an ex-dividend date of January 6, 2016. The annual yield on the dividend is 3.4 percent.

In addition, Darden's Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $500 million of its outstanding common stock. This repurchase program does not have an expiration and replaces all other outstanding share repurchase authorizations. This represents approximately 6.7% of the Company's outstanding shares based on the last trading day of the quarter.

For a dividend history and other dividend-related data on Darden Restaurants (DRI) click here.