TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. Grows Stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 157.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,286 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $435,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in EAT. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 136.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 28,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the period.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT opened at $159.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $148.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.10. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $48.01 and a 1-year high of $192.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on EAT. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. KeyCorp cut Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Brinker International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Brinker International news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. The trade was a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International 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.