Quantinno Capital Management LP Purchases Shares of 2,796 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,796 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $370,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $304,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $242,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,844 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,000.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total value of $105,073.71. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 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. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut 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, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE EAT traded up $6.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $175.01. 501,259 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,489,797. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.27 and a 52-week high of $192.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.53 and a 200-day moving average of $145.14.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The business 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 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. The company's revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS 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.