North Growth Management Ltd. Trims Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

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

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $130,615,000 after acquiring an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth about $82,408,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,814,000 after acquiring an additional 47,378 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,785,000 after acquiring an additional 62,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter worth about $61,929,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total transaction of $105,073.71. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,650.64. This trade represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 99,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,916,236.92. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAT has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.14.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT traded up $0.14 on Friday, reaching $178.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,391,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,483,545. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.61, a PEG ratio of 0.51 and a beta of 1.71. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $157.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $150.77. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.27 and a 12-month high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.