Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI Shares Sold by Willis Investment Counsel

Key Points

• Willis Investment Counsel reduced its Darden Restaurants stake by 20.4% in the third quarter, selling 25,000 shares and retaining 97,400 shares valued at approximately $18.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 93.64% of Darden’s stock.
• Wall Street maintains a positive outlook, with 16 analysts rating Darden a Buy and nine assigning a Hold rating. The stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.82.
• Darden reported quarterly EPS of $2.05 and revenue of $3.20 billion, while revenue increased 5.1% year over year. The company also declared a $1.62 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 3.0% annual yield.

Willis Investment Counsel cut its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 25,000 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel owned 0.09% of Darden Restaurants worth $18,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in DRI. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Darden Restaurants by 4.6% during the third quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,148 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.8% during the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 15.7% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 1.1% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional boosted its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 2,299 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $444,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DRI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Wednesday, September 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Darden Restaurants from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $220.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 25th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $232.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider John W. Wilkerson sold 8,864 shares of Darden Restaurants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $1,846,637.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 18,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,915,354.02. The trade was a 32.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rajesh Vennam sold 8,478 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $1,780,380.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 8,569 shares in the company, valued at $1,799,490. The trade was a 49.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 60,255 shares of company stock valued at $12,589,319 over the last ninety days. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of DRI stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $216.25. 344,185 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,324,825. The company has a market cap of $24.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $211.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $205.03. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $229.76.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 24th. The restaurant operator reported $2.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.05. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 8.85% and a return on equity of 58.64%. The business had revenue of $3.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.21 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. The firm's quarterly 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Darden Restaurants's payout ratio is currently 63.34%.

About Darden Restaurants

Darden Restaurants, Inc is a full-service restaurant company that owns and operates a portfolio of dining brands in the United States. Its restaurants offer a range of cuisines and dining formats, including Italian-American, steakhouse, seafood, casual dining and polished casual concepts.

The company's portfolio includes Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, Yard House, Ruth's Chris Steak House, The Capital Grille, Seasons 52, Bahama Breeze and Eddie V's. These brands serve meals prepared for on-premises dining, as well as takeout and other off-premises occasions.

Darden traces its history to 1968, when founder William “Bill” Darden opened the first Red Lobster restaurant in Lakeland, Florida.

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