American Century Companies Inc. Buys 274,986 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 4,710.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 280,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 274,986 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.63% of Brinker International worth $37,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Brinker International Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of EAT opened at $154.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $192.22. 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 simple moving average of $156.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.13.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.