Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 81,226 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 81,226 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $10,745,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.18% of Brinker International at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $410,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $661,000. Ifrah Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $280,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at $5,330,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on EAT shares. StockNews.com raised Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research raised shares of Brinker International from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $215.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Up 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE:EAT traded up $8.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $141.63. 855,494 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,404,635. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $155.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.00. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $43.37 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brinker International Company 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.