Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 66,477 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 920,654 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 66,477 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 2.07% of Brinker International worth $121,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimist Retirement Group LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 6.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,879,000 after purchasing an additional 51,927 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 136.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 49,031 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,486,000 after purchasing an additional 28,322 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 566,894 shares during the period.

Brinker International Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:EAT opened at $159.15 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $48.37 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 company has a market cap of $7.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $148.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.48.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

EAT has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

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.