KBC Group NV Acquires 589 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 46.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,844 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 589 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 1.1% in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in 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 last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 2.7% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 27,863 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,132,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE EAT opened at $187.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $42.99 and a one year high of $192.22. The firm has a market cap of $8.34 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $166.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank Of America (Bofa) lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.18.

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.