Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Stock Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,802 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Brinker International were worth $15,982,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth $83,000. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter worth $203,000. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the third quarter valued at about $209,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $144.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 2.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $150.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.83. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the ownership, development, operation, and franchising of casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It operates and franchises Chili's Grill & Bar and Maggiano's Little Italy restaurant brands.