Millennium Management LLC Sells 479,640 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Millennium Management LLC cut its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 78.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,609 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 479,640 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.29% of Brinker International worth $17,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Brinker International by 3,277.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $82,408,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $61,929,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4,710.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $21,549,000.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total value of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,798,522.81. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $144.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.27 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $145.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. The firm's revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on EAT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp lowered Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $141.14.

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.

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