Sterling Capital Management LLC Lowers Position in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)

Sterling Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,078 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 135 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Texas Roadhouse were worth $195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. MML Investors Services LLC raised its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $599,000 after buying an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Texas Roadhouse by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,180,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $208,539,000 after purchasing an additional 148,462 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Texas Roadhouse during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,282,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 4.8% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,711 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,185,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 893,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,375,000 after acquiring an additional 385,998 shares during the last quarter. 94.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

TXRH stock opened at $161.89 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $170.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $180.59. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.73 and a 52-week high of $206.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.88.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.41 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse, Inc. will post 7.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 18th were issued a $0.68 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 18th. This is a boost from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. This represents a $2.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Texas Roadhouse’s payout ratio is 42.04%.

Insider Transactions at Texas Roadhouse

In related news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 580 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.94, for a total transaction of $105,525.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,183,280. This trade represents a 4.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 2,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.26, for a total transaction of $454,302.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,535 shares of company stock worth $2,952,507. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on TXRH. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $200.00 to $180.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett lowered Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Texas Roadhouse from $186.00 to $180.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $185.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $180.00 price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.81.

Texas Roadhouse Company Profile

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.