Willis Investment Counsel Raises Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Willis Investment Counsel boosted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 92,800 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 9,800 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.08% of Darden Restaurants worth $17,325,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants by 96,162.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 8,851,795 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 111.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,469,083 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $241,121,000 after buying an additional 772,907 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants by 16,996.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 377,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $61,959,000 after buying an additional 375,292 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,048,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,580,322 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $587,638,000 after acquiring an additional 123,900 shares in the last quarter. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Darden Restaurants Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE DRI traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $200.41. 733,096 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,109,050. The company's 50 day moving average price is $182.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.75. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.87 and a 12 month high of $201.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02.

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

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $1.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $5.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is 64.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DRI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Darden Restaurants from $193.00 to $209.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $195.00 to $211.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.52.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In other news, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 7,228 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,262 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,864,708.02. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 7,892 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.95, for a total value of $1,546,437.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,914 shares of the company's stock, valued at $766,948.30. The trade was a 66.85 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,926 shares of company stock worth $9,850,129. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Darden Restaurants 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.