Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) by 186.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,403 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 8,080 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $76,413,000 after purchasing an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.3% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $52,900,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $81,888,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $47,351,000 after purchasing an additional 219,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares in the company, valued at $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.18.

Brinker International Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Brinker International stock traded down $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $164.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,626,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,089. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.17. The stock has a market cap of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $42.99 and a 12 month high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 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.