Cerity Partners LLC Has $3.17 Million Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 312.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,271 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 16,112 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $3,171,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Horrell Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 575.0% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 2,350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,522.81. This trade represents a 10.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Joseph Michael Depinto sold 10,000 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.36, for a total transaction of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,297 shares in the company, valued at $16,916,236.92. This represents a 9.15% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,127 shares of company stock worth $2,128,062 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Brinker International from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $156.41.

Brinker International Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of EAT stock opened at $161.50 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $56.27 and a 1 year high of $192.22. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a net margin of 6.50% and a return on equity of 333.03%. The business’s revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current 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.