Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Takes Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,393 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $978,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $705,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 399.9% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 19,281 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in Brinker International by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,324 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,028 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 7,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 252.4% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 15,693 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 11,240 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on EAT shares. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT opened at $145.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $155.44 and its 200-day moving average is $123.28.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Brinker International Profile

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.