Brown Advisory Inc. Makes New $200,000 Investment in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,345 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Brinker International by 575.0% during the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Brinker International in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,714.3% in the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 254 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $144.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Thirteen 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.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.41.

Brinker International Trading Up 1.1%

Brinker International stock opened at $166.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $56.27 and a fifty-two week high of $192.22. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $167.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.28.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total value of $1,703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 99,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total value of $319,388.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,591 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,798,522.81. This represents a 10.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,127 shares of company stock valued at $2,128,062 over the last 90 days. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Brinker International

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.