Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys Shares of 29,705 Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 29,705 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,273,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned about 0.07% of Brinker International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of EAT. Cetera Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 1st quarter worth about $714,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 36.7% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 279,974 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,908,000 after purchasing an additional 75,225 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International by 2.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,535,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $275,004,000 after purchasing an additional 135,580 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Brinker International by 231.8% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,583,239 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $78,602,000 after buying an additional 1,106,046 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1,686.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 192,972 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $13,969,000 after buying an additional 182,172 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Argus lowered shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.45.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Brinker International Price Performance

Brinker International stock opened at $118.95 on Wednesday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.62 and a 52 week high of $120.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $87.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.62. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 2.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.53 earnings per share for the current year.

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.