Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 28.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,581 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 5,598 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Brinker International worth $3,813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Brinker International by 3,277.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $130,615,000 after purchasing an additional 958,101 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,408,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Brinker International by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 512,613 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $67,814,000 after buying an additional 47,378 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 489,723 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $64,785,000 after acquiring an additional 62,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the fourth quarter valued at about $61,929,000.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, 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 value of $1,703,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,297 shares in the company, valued at $16,916,236.92. The trade was a 9.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Friday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.91, for a total transaction of $319,388.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 20,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,798,522.81. The trade was 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 worth $2,128,062 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.7%

EAT stock opened at $153.34 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.45. The company has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.70. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $56.27 and a 12 month high of $192.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.28 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $1.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. Brinker International had a return on equity of 333.03% and a net margin of 6.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup reduced 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, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $144.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $156.41.

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.