Teacher Retirement System of Texas Lowers Stock Holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas reduced its position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,331 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 20,435 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Brinker International were worth $4,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Brinker International by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $433,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Brinker International by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 12,989 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Finally, Optimist Retirement Group LLC raised its position in Brinker International by 6.1% in the 3rd 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Brinker International

In related news, Director Cindy L. Davis sold 5,802 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.86, for a total transaction of $1,089,963.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,107 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,086,561.02. This trade represents 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 at the SEC website. Also, COO Douglas N. Comings sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.90, for a total value of $1,409,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,252 shares in the company, valued at $6,435,950.80. This trade represents a 17.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,802 shares of company stock worth $3,752,464. 1.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Brinker International Trading Up 6.9 %

NYSE EAT opened at $154.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $155.88 and its 200 day moving average is $125.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 2.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.96. Brinker International, Inc. has a twelve month low of $43.37 and a twelve month high of $192.22.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The restaurant operator reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $1.43. Brinker International had a net margin of 5.45% and a return on equity of 879.47%. Research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on EAT shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Brinker International from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. 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 research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Brinker International from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Brinker International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.