Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 2,223,956 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 97.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,852 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,223,956 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.14% of Brinker International worth $8,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

EAT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.39.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 over the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.9 %

EAT stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $143.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,277,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,793. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $43.37 and a 1-year high of $192.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $151.17 and a 200 day moving average of $132.36.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal 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.