Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,284,808 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 170,364 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.05% of Brinker International worth $174,856,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of EAT. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Brinker International by 1.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 6.1% during the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Brinker International by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This represents a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on EAT. Bank Of America (Bofa) increased their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets cut Brinker International from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $105.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.38.

Brinker International Stock Up 0.3 %

EAT stock opened at $127.85 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $110.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.19. The company has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International, Inc. has a 52 week low of $37.25 and a 52 week high of $133.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.10 billion. Brinker International had a negative return on equity of 839.19% and a net margin of 4.11%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Brinker International

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.