Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Alps Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,540 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $379,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 575.0% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter worth $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in Brinker International by 1,714.3% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at $48,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on EAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $156.41.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.2%

NYSE:EAT traded down $3.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $161.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,528,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,513. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.50. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.27 and a 1 year high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.28.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The firm's revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total value of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,916,236.92. This trade represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,798,522.81. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

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.