Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 1,772 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 38.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,864 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,772 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $219,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of EAT. Boston Partners lifted its position in Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106,046 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 31.7% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after purchasing an additional 227,047 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Brinker International by 1,686.8% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,969,000 after purchasing an additional 182,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 1,160.2% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 192,268 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,918,000 after purchasing an additional 177,011 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on EAT shares. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus cut shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $130.69 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $98.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.77 and a 52-week high of $132.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by 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.