Highview Capital Management LLC DE Increases Stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Highview Capital Management LLC DE increased its stake in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,557 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Highview Capital Management LLC DE’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Brinker International in the fourth quarter worth $410,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Brinker International by 23.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,879,000 after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Brinker International in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $5,330,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 399.9% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 24,102 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after buying an additional 19,281 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International during the third quarter worth about $941,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 11,107 shares in the company, valued at $2,086,561.02. The trade was a 34.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock valued at $3,752,464 in the last three months. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on EAT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Northcoast Research upgraded Brinker International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $215.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on Brinker International from $108.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Brinker International from $140.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

Brinker International Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of EAT opened at $158.55 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $110.16. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $43.37 and a 12-month high of $192.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current 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.