Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Brinker International, Inc. (NYSE:EAT) by 23.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 51,927 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.61% of Brinker International worth $20,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in Brinker International by 13,850.1% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,057,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,546,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 998,278 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,413,000 after purchasing an additional 8,105 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Brinker International by 31.7% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 942,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $68,228,000 after purchasing an additional 227,047 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Brinker International by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 691,230 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $52,900,000 after purchasing an additional 28,373 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Brinker International by 55.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 618,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $47,351,000 after buying an additional 219,836 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michaela M. Ware sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.02, for a total transaction of $386,634.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,071 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,774.42. This trade represents a 13.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on EAT. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Brinker International from $76.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Brinker International from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Brinker International from $70.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Brinker International from $62.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Brinker International in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Brinker International has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.53.

Brinker International Stock Performance

Shares of EAT stock opened at $137.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $87.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 63.54, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.51. Brinker International, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.25 and a 12-month high of $137.21.

Brinker International (NYSE:EAT) last issued 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.28 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Brinker International, Inc. will post 5.43 EPS 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.