Cerity Partners LLC Buys 1,317 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $920,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $967,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Brinker International by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in Brinker International by 33.2% in the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was 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 approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $129.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 2.51. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.25 and a 52 week high of $133.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $106.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.05.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EAT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Brinker International in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Argus downgraded shares of Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.63.

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.