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

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 364,998 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 12,584 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises 3.3% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of Darden Restaurants worth $69,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 419.2% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 2,635 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.36, for a total transaction of $546,393.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $849,761.28. The trade was a 39.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 2,258 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.00, for a total transaction of $480,954.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,787,992. This represents a 11.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,770 shares of company stock worth $3,948,970. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI traded up $2.38 during trading on Friday, reaching $215.36. The stock had a trading volume of 48,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,523,453. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.39. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $228.27. The stock has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $194.50.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The restaurant operator reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.10 by ($0.02). Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 52.44%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.500-10.700 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DRI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $205.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $205.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Darden Restaurants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $207.00 price target (down previously from $240.00) on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.78.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a multi-brand, full-service restaurant company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates a portfolio of casual and fine-dining concepts that together serve millions of guests through company-owned and franchised locations. Its well-known brands include Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, alongside other dining concepts that span Italian, American, steakhouse and upscale casual formats.

Darden’s restaurants provide a range of guest-facing services including dine-in, takeout, delivery and catering, and feature menus tailored to each brand’s positioning—Italian-American fare at Olive Garden, steaks and grilled items at LongHorn, and more premium steakhouse and chef-driven offerings at its upscale concepts.