Wolverine Asset Management LLC Sells 10,000 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Wolverine Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 87.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $61,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Brinker International by 3,611.1% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 668 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 68.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 946 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new position in Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Brinker International by 28,800.0% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,445 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on EAT shares. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays upped their price target on Brinker International from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Brinker International from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Brinker International from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Joseph G. Taylor sold 24,163 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.97, for a total transaction of $1,086,610.11. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 56,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,548,045.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE EAT opened at $48.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.69. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $28.23 and a one year high of $51.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.05. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 113.41% and a net margin of 3.63%. The company had revenue of $1.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 3.71 earnings per share for the current 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.