Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Bought by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 3,277.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 958,101 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 2.22% of Brinker International worth $130,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 23.5% in the third 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 grew its position in Brinker International by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 28,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

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 shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 in the last ninety days. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $2.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.46. 669,570 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,566,767. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.78 and a 12 month high of $192.21. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.24 and a 200-day moving average of $138.65. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. The business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on EAT. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $141.14.

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.