Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 1.32% of Brinker International worth $77,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the second quarter worth approximately $202,000. Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $203,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International during the 3rd quarter worth $209,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $143.70. 679,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 972,201. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $130.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $6.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.05, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 2.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $37.53 and a 52-week high of $147.65.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.91 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $95.00 to $130.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.28.

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.