Swiss National Bank Purchases 1,100 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Swiss National Bank lifted its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 88,100 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.20% of Brinker International worth $11,655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 123.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Brinker International by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,989 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,718,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. This trade represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last ninety days. 1.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Brinker International Price Performance

NYSE EAT opened at $145.51 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $123.28. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.37 and a 52-week high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. Analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on EAT shares. Argus raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

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.