North Growth Management Ltd. Sells 39,000 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

North Growth Management Ltd. lessened its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 18.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 174,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 39,000 shares during the quarter. Brinker International comprises approximately 4.4% of North Growth Management Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. North Growth Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.39% of Brinker International worth $23,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $410,000. Advisory Resource Group acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $221,000. Advisors Preferred LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $940,000. Finally, Choreo LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 26.3% during the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,662 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on EAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Stock Down 5.5 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $172.17 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $42.99 and a 12-month high of $192.21. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $144.57 and a 200-day moving average of $106.42. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 predict 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.