Hsbc Holdings PLC Has $78.27 Million Holdings in Darden Restaurants, Inc. $DRI

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, owning 424,673 shares valued at about $78.27 million.
• Darden recently reported better-than-expected EPS of $3.66 on revenue of $3.72 billion, with sales up 13.7% year over year, and it also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.62 per share.
• Wall Street sentiment remains positive overall: Darden has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with 17 Buy ratings and an average price target of $229.32.

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI - Free Report) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 424,673 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 14,156 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.37% of Darden Restaurants worth $78,274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Darden Restaurants by 81.0% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,077,567 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,486,434,000 after purchasing an additional 3,613,781 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Darden Restaurants by 78.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,666,919 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $507,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,171,890 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $144,483,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Darden Restaurants during the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,301,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 42.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,884,339 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $346,756,000 after buying an additional 563,237 shares during the period. 93.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Evercore cut Darden Restaurants from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $230.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $227.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research raised their price target on Darden Restaurants from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Darden Restaurants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Darden Restaurants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $229.32.

Darden Restaurants Stock Performance

NYSE:DRI opened at $203.84 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.82. The stock has a market cap of $23.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.60. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $220.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

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

Darden Restaurants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This is a positive change from Darden Restaurants's previous quarterly dividend of $1.50. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Darden Restaurants's dividend payout ratio is presently 57.80%.

Insider Activity

In other Darden Restaurants news, SVP Douglas J. Milanes sold 3,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.16, for a total value of $731,819.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $55,391.84. The trade was a 92.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Lindsay L. Koren sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $58,296.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 1,617 shares in the company, valued at $314,215.44. This represents a 15.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.

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