Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 597 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,341 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 597 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.08% of Brinker International worth $4,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Brinker International by 123.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $146,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Up 6.9 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $154.78 on Tuesday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.37 and a 12-month high of $192.22. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.11. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. 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.