LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Makes New $2.44 Million Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. has invested approximately $2.44 million in Brinker International, acquiring 16,400 shares during the first quarter.
• Several hedge funds, including Wells Fargo and Bank of Montreal, have increased their stakes in Brinker International, indicating growing institutional interest.
• Analyst price targets for Brinker International's stock have been raised multiple times, with a recent average target price of $156.41, alongside an average rating of "Hold".

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 16,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,444,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 valued at $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $82,408,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 102.0% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 995,713 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $148,411,000 after acquiring an additional 502,897 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $61,929,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter worth $55,808,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Brinker International from $149.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $171.41.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:EAT traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $158.04. 1,290,619 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,763. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.68. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.26 and a 52-week high of $192.21. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.41.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 13th. The restaurant operator reported $2.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.02. Brinker International had a net margin of 7.12% and a return on equity of 211.86%. The company had revenue of $1.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.61 earnings per share. Brinker International's revenue was up 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Harriet Edelman sold 8,325 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.00, for a total transaction of $1,307,025.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 28,905 shares in the company, valued at $4,538,085. This trade represents a 22.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

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.