MML Investors Services LLC Increases Position in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT)

MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 123.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,199 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,185 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Brinker International were worth $857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Brinker International by 96.2% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Brinker International by 33.2% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 986 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Brinker International by 1,265.2% in the second quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $136,000 after purchasing an additional 1,746 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Brinker International by 1,111.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,266 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Brinker International during the second quarter worth $166,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EAT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Argus downgraded Brinker International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $115.00 in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Brinker International from $83.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Brinker International from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $67.00 to $100.00 in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.63.

Insider Activity at Brinker International

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of Brinker International stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. The trade was a 13.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Brinker International Stock Up 2.2 %

EAT stock opened at $134.26 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $114.81 and its 200 day moving average is $85.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a quick ratio of 0.26 and a current ratio of 0.32. Brinker International, Inc. has a one year low of $37.25 and a one year high of $136.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The restaurant operator reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $1.14 billion during 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%. Brinker International’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS for the current year.

Brinker International Company 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.