Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 204,832 Shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI)

Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Darden Restaurants, Inc. (NYSE:DRI) by 81.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 457,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,832 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Darden Restaurants were worth $69,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its stake in Darden Restaurants by 131.3% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 155 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Darden Restaurants in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Darden Restaurants during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Union Savings Bank increased its stake in Darden Restaurants by 44.0% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Darden Restaurants

In related news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Melvin John Martin sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.09, for a total value of $352,725.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,649,483.19. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Sarah H. King sold 15,941 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.06, for a total transaction of $2,344,283.46. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 447 shares in the company, valued at $65,735.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DRI shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Darden Restaurants from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $154.00 to $124.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $159.00 target price on shares of Darden Restaurants in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Darden Restaurants from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Darden Restaurants from $180.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $170.18.

Darden Restaurants Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DRI opened at $172.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.38. Darden Restaurants, Inc. has a 52 week low of $133.36 and a 52 week high of $176.84. The firm has a market cap of $20.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $149.69 and its 200-day moving average is $153.39.

Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 20th. The restaurant operator reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.61 by $0.04. Darden Restaurants had a return on equity of 49.82% and a net margin of 9.02%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.58 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Darden Restaurants, Inc. will post 9.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Darden Restaurants Company 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.