Verition Fund Management LLC Sells 208,910 Shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Verition Fund Management LLC reduced its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 74.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,615 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 208,910 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.16% of Brinker International worth $5,481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in shares of Brinker International by 1.1% in the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 12,015 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $920,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 13,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $967,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Brinker International by 96.2% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Brinker International news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total value of $386,634.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,071 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on EAT. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $69.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price objective on Brinker International from $94.00 to $97.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Argus cut Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Brinker International from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Brinker International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.45.

Brinker International Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of EAT opened at $130.29 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $37.25 and a 1 year high of $133.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.84.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. Brinker International had a net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 839.19%. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. Brinker International’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share 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.