Advisors Preferred LLC Has $355,000 Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Advisors Preferred LLC lessened its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 65.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,350 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,479 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC's holdings in Brinker International were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth about $206,000. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth about $1,036,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new position in Brinker International in the first quarter worth about $492,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the first quarter worth approximately $565,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,336,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $144.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total value of $105,073.71. Following the sale, the director directly owned 8,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,650.64. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total transaction of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,591 shares in the company, valued at $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International Trading Down 5.1%

EAT traded down $8.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $152.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,736,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,271,186. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $169.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.27 and a 1-year high of $192.21.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.