1,610 Shares in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Bought by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,610 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $213,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $55,038,000 after purchasing an additional 382,633 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,611,000.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $139.34 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $155.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $122.06. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its 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 net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. Equities analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 in the last quarter. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on EAT. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.18.

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.