Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.61% of Brinker International worth $20,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 1,265.2% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in Brinker International during the second quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Burford Brothers Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the third quarter worth $203,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note 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 target for the company from $95.00 to $130.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank Of America (Bofa) raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays upped their target price on Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of EAT stock traded down $0.08 on Thursday, reaching $137.11. 449,597 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,409,677. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $37.25 and a 1-year high of $137.86. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $119.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.03.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) 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 company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

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.