Wedbush Securities Inc. Takes $335,000 Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Wedbush Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 62,196 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,228,000 after buying an additional 9,062 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Quantitative Investments LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,323,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $268,000. Summit Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $309,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 55,221 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $7,305,000 after purchasing an additional 4,119 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The stock was 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 owns 34,252 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. The trade was a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464 over the last ninety days. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. KeyCorp downgraded Brinker International from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating and set a $115.00 price target 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 upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Brinker International from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.39.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $143.99. 1,277,148 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,457,793. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22. The firm has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. 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 50-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, 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 predict 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.