M&G PLC Purchases New Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. $EAT

M&G PLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 64,108 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,437,000. M&G PLC owned approximately 0.15% of Brinker International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EAT. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after acquiring an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Brinker International by 3.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $293,786,000 after acquiring an additional 59,120 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $167,128,000 after acquiring an additional 9,692 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Brinker International in the second quarter worth $91,237,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Brinker International by 63.7% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,463,000 after purchasing an additional 160,939 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other Brinker International news, Director Joseph DePinto sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.39, for a total value of $5,759,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 77,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,927,106.68. This trade represents a 24.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP George Felix sold 14,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.47, for a total transaction of $3,407,457.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,398.71. This trade represents a 69.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 213,694 shares of company stock valued at $50,383,890. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on EAT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Freedom Broker raised shares of Brinker International to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on Brinker International from $240.00 to $210.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on Brinker International from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.80.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:EAT opened at $195.45 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $103.74 and a twelve month high of $254.99. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $204.97 and its 200-day moving average is $176.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.36.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a return on equity of 125.65% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.17 EPS. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.70 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brinker International Company Profile

Brinker International, Inc. is a casual-dining restaurant company based in Dallas, Texas. It owns, operates and franchises restaurants under the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. Chili’s serves a broad menu of American and Tex-Mex-inspired dishes, including burgers, ribs and fajitas. Maggiano’s specializes in Italian-American cuisine, with dishes such as pasta and other classic entrées. The company traces its roots to 1975, when founder Norman Brinker opened the first Chili’s restaurant in Dallas.