Brinker International, Inc. $EAT Stock Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 40.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 26,050 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $7,556,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EAT. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 2.2% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 6,729,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,130,552,000 after buying an additional 145,525 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Brinker International by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,748,760 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $293,786,000 after acquiring an additional 59,120 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Brinker International by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,170,612 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $167,128,000 after acquiring an additional 9,692 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the 2nd quarter worth $91,237,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Brinker International by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 413,472 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $69,463,000 after acquiring an additional 160,939 shares in the last quarter.

Brinker International Stock Performance

NYSE:EAT opened at $197.30 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.37. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1-year low of $111.61 and a 1-year high of $254.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $203.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The restaurant operator reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.32. Brinker International had a return on equity of 125.65% and a net margin of 8.44%. The company had revenue of $1.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 13.58 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michaela Ware sold 3,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $707,444.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,084,499.12. This represents a 14.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP James Butler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.37, for a total value of $2,403,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,178,713.68. The trade was a 52.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 132,386 shares of company stock valued at $30,915,368. Corporate insiders own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Brinker International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Brinker International from $175.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Brinker International from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $270.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Brinker International from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.80.

About Brinker International

Brinker International, Inc. is a casual-dining restaurant company based in Dallas, Texas. It owns, operates and franchises restaurants under the Chili’s Grill & Bar and Maggiano’s Little Italy brands. Chili’s serves a broad menu of American and Tex-Mex-inspired dishes, including burgers, ribs and fajitas. Maggiano’s specializes in Italian-American cuisine, with dishes such as pasta and other classic entrées. The company traces its roots to 1975, when founder Norman Brinker opened the first Chili’s restaurant in Dallas.