MRA Advisory Group Acquires New Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

MRA Advisory Group bought a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,757 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position 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 valued at $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at $82,408,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Brinker International by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,613 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $67,814,000 after buying an additional 47,378 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 62,265 shares during the period. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,929,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EAT. 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 report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total transaction of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total value of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 99,297 shares in the company, valued at $16,916,236.92. This trade represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062 over the last 90 days. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International Stock Performance

EAT traded up $2.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $173.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,387,340 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,494,162. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.67. The company has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.71. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.27 and a 1 year high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.43 billion during 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%. Brinker International's quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.