Covestor Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 32,500.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,304 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $65,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Brinker International by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $275,004,000 after buying an additional 135,580 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,503,198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $64,908,000 after purchasing an additional 296,785 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Brinker International by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 936,283 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,430,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Brinker International by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 632,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,311,000 after purchasing an additional 53,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $20,401,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Brinker International from $62.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Brinker International from $53.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Raymond James downgraded Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $62.00 to $82.50 in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.03.

Brinker International Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $62.67 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.23 and a fifty-two week high of $76.02. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.31. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.09. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 154.29% and a net margin of 3.55%. The company had revenue of $1.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,953 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $215,480.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,784,827.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,953 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.97, for a total transaction of $215,480.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 38,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,784,827.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 40,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.45, for a total transaction of $2,421,022.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 66,286 shares in the company, valued at $4,006,988.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 57,714 shares of company stock valued at $3,637,623. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.