Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Stock Holdings Decreased by North Growth Management Ltd.

North Growth Management Ltd. cut its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,000 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Brinker International comprises 4.5% of North Growth Management Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. North Growth Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.32% of Brinker International worth $21,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $130,615,000 after buying an additional 958,101 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,929,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4,710.3% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 280,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,150,000 after acquiring an additional 274,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 239,306 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $31,658,000 after purchasing an additional 178,503 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EAT. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,158,650.64. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $179.91. 1,209,752 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,482,740. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.27 and a 52 week high of $192.22. 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 50-day moving average price of $157.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.71.

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

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.