Barclays PLC Purchases 111,841 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 195.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 169,202 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 111,841 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.38% of Brinker International worth $22,383,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $76,413,000 after acquiring an additional 8,105 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Brinker International by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,723 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $64,785,000 after buying an additional 62,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,038,000 after buying an additional 382,633 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now 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. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp lowered Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Argus raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.47.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $153.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.52 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The firm has a market cap of $6.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The business's 50 day moving average price is $148.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.92.

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

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.

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