Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. raised its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,215 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,413,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 4.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $52,900,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,888,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EAT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of EAT stock opened at $154.20 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $156.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.94. The firm 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. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.37 and a 1 year high of $192.22. 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 (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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, research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 in the last quarter. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brinker International Company 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.