Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 3,675 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,983 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $2,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Brinker International by 123.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $126,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 132.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,420 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total value of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of Brinker International stock opened at $139.34 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.06. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $43.37 and a one year high of $192.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.15, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a return on equity of 879.47% and a net margin of 5.45%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Brinker International

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.