Comerica Bank Buys 64,178 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 209.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 94,866 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 64,178 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $12,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Brinker International by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC now owns 2,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th 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. Savant Capital LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Brinker International by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,509 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EAT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Brinker International from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $141.14.

Insider Transactions at Brinker International

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This represents a 34.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464. Corporate insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Brinker International Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE EAT opened at $133.13 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $146.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.78 and a 1-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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.18. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. The firm had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.38 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.