Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612,642 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 52,985 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 1.38% of Brinker International worth $81,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 2,612.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,865,000 after acquiring an additional 566,894 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 416,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $55,038,000 after acquiring an additional 382,633 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after buying an additional 219,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,611,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In other news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. Company insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on EAT. KeyCorp cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating and set a $115.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Price Performance

EAT opened at $139.89 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $120.09. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.37 and a 52-week high of $192.22.

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

Brinker International Company 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.