Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) COO Sells $1,409,250.00 in Stock

Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total transaction of $1,409,250.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $164.00 on Thursday. Brinker International, Inc. has a 1 year low of $42.99 and a 1 year high of $192.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $146.72 and a 200 day moving average of $108.56.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts expect that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Brinker International

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in Brinker International by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Brinker International by 123.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 309 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Brinker International in the fourth quarter valued at $83,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Brinker International in the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Brinker International during the 4th quarter worth approximately $146,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on EAT shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Brinker International from $97.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley raised Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Brinker International from $162.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Brinker International from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.18.

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.