Caxton Associates LP Acquires 14,564 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Caxton Associates LP raised its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 372.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,477 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 14,564 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP's holdings in Brinker International were worth $2,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EAT. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brinker International Stock Up 3.9 %

EAT traded up $5.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.14. 1,616,566 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,493,355. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $145.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $139.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.27 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Brinker International's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on EAT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.14.

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.