Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Sold by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 88.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,700 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 171,272 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of EAT. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International by 2.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106,046 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $76,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,836 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $68,228,000 after acquiring an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,700 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $21,406,000 after purchasing an additional 40,500 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $104.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,846,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,457,531. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 2.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.21 and a 200 day moving average of $69.98. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.03 and a twelve month high of $107.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The company's revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 4.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp upped their price target on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $84.19.

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.