Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Acquired by Mariner LLC

Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 64.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,482 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 3,336 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,122,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Optimist Retirement Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $20,879,000 after acquiring an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 123.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 136.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 28,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares during the period.

Brinker International Price Performance

Brinker International stock traded up $1.69 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $131.74. The stock had a trading volume of 343,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,480,492. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.29 and a 1-year high of $192.22. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.65.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. The firm's revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research raised Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $141.14.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last ninety days. Corporate 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.