Darden Restaurants (DRI) will raise its dividend by another 25 percent to $1.10 per share quarterly. This is the second increase announced in 2021 for a total of 197.3 percent. Last year Darden reinstated its quarterly dividend with a new payment of $0.30 per share in the fourth quarter of 2020. Earlier in 2020 the full-service restaurant company suspended its dividend after a 17.3 percent in 2019. 

The next dividend is payable on August 2, 2021 to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 9, 2021. The new annual dividend rate of $4.40 per share yields 3.1% at a stock price of $141 for Darden.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a full-service restaurant company with operations in the United States and Canada. Its brands include Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's.  Darden Restaurants is a Florida corporation incorporated in March 1995. The company initiated a dividend in 1995 and temporarily suspended its payment in 2020 because of COVID-19. In the fourth quarter of 2020 the dividend was reinstated.