Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Sells 19,853 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 345,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 19,853 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants accounts for 2.9% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $63,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 27,819 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,119,000 after buying an additional 1,409 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 63.3% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 196 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 64.8% during the fourth quarter. J.Safra Asset Management Corp now owns 2,099 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $386,000 after buying an additional 825 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,674,000 after buying an additional 7,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 436,474 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $80,320,000 after buying an additional 50,056 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 3.6%

NYSE:DRI opened at $210.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.39 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $198.17 and a 200-day moving average of $198.46. The company has a market cap of $24.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $228.27.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.33 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.66% and a return on equity of 53.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 10.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is presently 63.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $222.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price target on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $235.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $208.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $226.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Eighteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total transaction of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $314,215.44. The trade was a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.49% of the company’s stock.

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.