Axa S.A. Lowers Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Axa S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,600 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $609,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EAT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Brinker International by 3,277.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 987,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $130,615,000 after acquiring an additional 958,101 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,888,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Brinker International by 2,612.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 588,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $77,865,000 after purchasing an additional 566,894 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the fourth quarter worth about $61,929,000. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1,145.2% in the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 382,633 shares during the last quarter.

Brinker International Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE EAT opened at $137.09 on Friday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.27 and a 52 week high of $192.22. The stock has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 1.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $144.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.45.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on Brinker International from $185.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. KeyCorp lowered 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. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Brinker International from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, Director Ramona Hood sold 777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.23, for a total value of $105,073.71. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,568 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,158,650.64. This trade represents a 8.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $1,253,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 26,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,470,259.20. This represents a 21.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

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.