Advisors Preferred LLC Invests $940,000 in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 6,829 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $940,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,413,000 after purchasing an additional 8,105 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,900,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth about $81,888,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Brinker International by 55.1% during the third 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, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings 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 worth $77,865,000 after buying an additional 566,894 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,086,561.02. This trade represents a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on EAT shares. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $150.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Argus raised Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Down 5.5 %

EAT stock opened at $172.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.15. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $42.99 and a 52-week high of $192.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.33 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.