Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Cuts Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lessened its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 29.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,020 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $730,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 102.0% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $148,411,000 after purchasing an additional 502,897 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,408,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $67,814,000 after purchasing an additional 47,378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $61,929,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $144.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $156.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 99,297 shares in the company, valued at $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brinker International Price Performance

Brinker International stock opened at $157.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 1.68. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $192.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $168.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.35.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.42 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The company’s revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.61 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

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.