American Century Companies Inc. Grows Stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 4,710.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 274,986 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.63% of Brinker International worth $37,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Brinker International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Brinker International by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Brinker International by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,989 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares in the last quarter.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE:EAT traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $150.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,387,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,440,224. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $156.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) 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, analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. Insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Brinker International 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.