Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires 1,756 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,159 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 1,756 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Brinker International were worth $2,110,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 19.0% in the first quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 16,128 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,404,000 after buying an additional 2,571 shares during the period. 44 Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the first quarter worth about $1,464,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Brinker International by 2.8% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 295,622 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $44,062,000 after acquiring an additional 8,166 shares during the period. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Brinker International by 72.9% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 55,885 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,330,000 after acquiring an additional 23,554 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on EAT. Barclays decreased their price objective on Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $148.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were 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 owned 20,591 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. The trade was a 10.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the company'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 owned 8,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,158,650.64. This represents a 8.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE EAT traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $164.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,426,028 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,474,235. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.27 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $165.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 333.03% and a net margin of 6.50%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Brinker International 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.