Nebula Research & Development LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Nebula Research & Development LLC cut its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 51.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,006 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 15,031 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Brinker International Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded down $3.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $130.90. The company had a trading volume of 1,211,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,484,210. The company has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $53.02 and a one year high of $192.22. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $147.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.36. 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 (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. KeyCorp cut Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % 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 worth $3,752,464 over the last quarter. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.