Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 38.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 1.1% in the third 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 period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Brinker International by 1.9% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

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 stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $130.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $98.76 and its 200 day moving average is $78.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.81 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.46. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.77 and a fifty-two week high of $132.08.

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

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.