Cerity Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,317 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $582,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Citigroup Inc. grew its holdings in Brinker International by 74.4% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 56,324 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,310,000 after purchasing an additional 24,028 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after acquiring an additional 19,281 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter valued at about $705,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $5,330,000. Finally, Parametrica Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International in the third quarter worth about $209,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Brinker International in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $89.63.

Brinker International Price Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $129.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12 month low of $37.25 and a 12 month high of $133.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.05.

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

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is currently 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.