Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $65.09 Million Position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC trimmed its Darden stake by 21.9% in the first quarter, selling 92,994 shares and ending with 331,679 shares valued at about $65.1 million.
• Darden posted solid quarterly results, with EPS of $3.66 beating estimates and revenue up 13.7% year over year to $3.72 billion.
• The company raised its dividend to $1.62 per quarter, or $6.48 annualized, while analysts remain broadly positive with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average target price of $228.88.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,679 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 92,994 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.29% of Darden Restaurants worth $65,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Darden Restaurants during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 926.7% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Darden Restaurants in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Susan M. Connelly sold 9,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.21, for a total transaction of $2,047,665.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 4,165 shares in the company, valued at $858,864.65. This trade represents a 70.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Darden Restaurants Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of DRI stock opened at $198.31 on Monday. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $220.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $202.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.73. The stock has a market cap of $22.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.60.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The restaurant operator reported $3.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $3.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.73 billion. Darden Restaurants had a net margin of 9.13% and a return on equity of 57.44%. The business's revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.98 EPS. Darden Restaurants has set its FY 2027 guidance at 11.100-11.350 EPS. Analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 11.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is a boost from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on DRI. Evercore lowered Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Guggenheim upped their price target on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Darden Restaurants from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research upped their target price on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $228.88.

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.

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