Stephens Inc. AR Purchases Shares of 5,000 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $661,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Brinker International by 23.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after acquiring an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $410,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at $5,330,000. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter valued at $941,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on EAT. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:EAT opened at $158.55 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 $7.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $43.37 and a 52 week high of $192.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.57.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.