Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 318,903 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 12,047 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants makes up approximately 3.1% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. owned 0.28% of Darden Restaurants worth $61,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 4.6% in the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,148 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 0.5% in the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 11,115 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the third quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the third quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,725 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,106,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,789 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

DRI stock opened at $228.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.65. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.00 and a twelve month high of $233.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 58.64% and a net margin of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $3.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.21 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on DRI. Seaport Research Partners assumed coverage on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $240.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.82.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates dining brands serving a range of cuisines and occasions. Its portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Eddie V’s and Ruth’s Chris Steak House. The company traces its roots to 1938, when founder Bill Darden opened a restaurant in Georgia. It later established the Red Lobster chain, which it operated for decades before selling the brand in 2014.