Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 32.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,159 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,441 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Brinker International were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 123.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $146,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % 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 the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on EAT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their target price on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $142.53.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT traded up $7.01 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $156.67. 1,828,639 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,455,217. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.92. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.74 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22.

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

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.