Smith Group Asset Management LLC Has $1.17 Million Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,772 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 171 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. DGS Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at $242,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Brinker International by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $244,000 after acquiring an additional 589 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on EAT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James lowered shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.29.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $155.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $135.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.11. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $39.39 and a one year high of $155.55. The firm has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. On average, analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.