Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $44.94 Million Stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 34.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 218,480 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 113,199 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $44,943,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. Union Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

NYSE DRI opened at $216.87 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $209.65 and its 200-day moving average is $204.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $229.76. The company has a market capitalization of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.98 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Darden Restaurants’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants’s payout ratio is currently 62.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, insider Laura B. Williamson sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.89, for a total value of $90,766.27. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,536 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,271.04. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ricardo Cardenas sold 39,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.06, for a total value of $8,181,354.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,009,682.76. The trade was a 31.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 70,185 shares of company stock worth $14,636,984 in the last 90 days. 0.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Darden Restaurants from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Darden Restaurants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.50.

Darden Restaurants Profile

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.