Citigroup Inc. Purchases 24,028 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,324 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 24,028 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.13% of Brinker International worth $4,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 33,253 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,588 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in Brinker International by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 31,284 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 6,553 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at $714,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 90.4% in the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 20,751 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 9,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of EAT stock traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $128.86. 1,103,760 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,435,469. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.25 and a 12-month high of $133.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $103.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current 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.