Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Has $69.69 Million Stock Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. increased its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 373,265 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 1,946 shares during the period. Darden Restaurants comprises 3.5% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of Darden Restaurants worth $69,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 8,861,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,454,356,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851,795 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 111.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $241,121,000 after purchasing an additional 772,907 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the third quarter worth $40,048,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 6,456.8% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 185,098 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,556,000 after purchasing an additional 182,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $587,638,000 after buying an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.71, for a total transaction of $1,313,399.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,264 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.68, for a total value of $1,710,875.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,567 shares in the company, valued at $843,433.56. This trade represents a 66.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129 over the last three months. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $4.92 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $195.54. 1,578,584 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,256. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.23. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $135.87 and a one year high of $203.12. The company's 50 day moving average is $190.48 and its 200 day moving average is $173.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 19th. The restaurant operator reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.03. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 50.12%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.84 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.52 EPS for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is presently 64.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on DRI shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Darden Restaurants from $194.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.52.

Darden Restaurants Company Profile

Darden Restaurants, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, owns and operates full-service restaurants in the United States and Canada. It operates under Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze, Eddie V's Prime Seafood, and Capital Burger brand names.