Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Has $55.04 Million Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 1,145.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 382,633 shares during the quarter. Brinker International comprises 1.0% of Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.94% of Brinker International worth $55,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th 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. Optimist Retirement Group LLC lifted 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 valued at $249,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in Brinker International by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,863 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $144.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.13 and a 12-month high of $147.65. The company has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.52. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $131.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.61.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Brinker International’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $95.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Brinker International from $120.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Argus raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $108.29.

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.