Comerica Bank Acquires 64,178 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 209.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 94,866 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 64,178 shares during the period. Comerica Bank owned 0.21% of Brinker International worth $12,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at about $83,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush boosted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.14.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSE:EAT traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $138.17. The stock had a trading volume of 558,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,489,712. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.27 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The business's 50 day moving average is $145.22 and its 200 day moving average is $139.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.91, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Brinker International's quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.