Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 152,434 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,110 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.34% of Brinker International worth $20,165,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,038,000 after buying an additional 382,633 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4,710.3% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $37,150,000 after acquiring an additional 274,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after acquiring an additional 219,836 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on EAT. Argus raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.4 %

Brinker International stock opened at $154.20 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.37 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.94.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

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.