Primecap Management Co. CA Trims Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Primecap Management Co. CA reduced its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,500 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.08% of Brinker International worth $2,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EAT. CWM LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,265.2% during the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,111.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America increased their target price on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Brinker International Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $125.61 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.77 and a 1 year high of $126.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.09. The company has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 2.46.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.