Ameriprise Financial Inc. Has $34.10 Million Stock Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 121.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,735 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 141,397 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.58% of Brinker International worth $34,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on EAT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of EAT stock traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $151.80. 1,110,293 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,488,579. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $144.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $141.93. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.27 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total value of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.72% of the stock is currently 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.