Convergence Investment Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 5,189 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC bought 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 & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $773,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake 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 valued at $130,615,000 after acquiring an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $82,408,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $67,814,000 after acquiring an additional 47,378 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $64,785,000 after acquiring an additional 62,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,929,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the business'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 owned 99,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,916,236.92. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 8.31% 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 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on EAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Brinker International from $144.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on 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, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $156.41.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT traded up $1.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.34. 872,812 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,307,409. The business's 50-day moving average price is $169.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $157.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.70. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.27 and a 12 month high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Brinker International Company 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.