Jennison Associates LLC Takes Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,213 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $705,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 1.1% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $967,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 33.2% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.5 %

EAT opened at $125.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 30.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 2.46. 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.77 and a fifty-two week high of $126.29. The business has a 50-day moving average of $95.35 and a 200-day moving average of $77.23.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Barclays increased their price target on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Argus downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.