Aire Advisors LLC Sells 10,000 Shares of Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH)

Aire Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ:TXRH) by 20.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the period. Texas Roadhouse accounts for approximately 1.5% of Aire Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Aire Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Texas Roadhouse worth $7,217,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in TXRH. FMR LLC increased its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 81.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 898,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $158,679,000 after acquiring an additional 403,720 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Texas Roadhouse by 76.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 893,925 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $157,375,000 after acquiring an additional 385,998 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Texas Roadhouse in the third quarter worth about $66,609,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Texas Roadhouse during the fourth quarter worth about $55,177,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Texas Roadhouse by 2,216.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 176,280 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,831,000 after purchasing an additional 168,669 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 94.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

TXRH has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Gordon Haskett cut Texas Roadhouse from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $192.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Texas Roadhouse in a report on Thursday, December 5th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $213.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Texas Roadhouse from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $205.00 to $213.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Texas Roadhouse from $220.00 to $200.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Texas Roadhouse from $194.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Christopher C. Colson sold 1,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.46, for a total transaction of $245,860.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,794,600. This trade represents a 12.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregory N. Moore sold 2,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.26, for a total value of $454,302.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,905 shares of company stock worth $3,198,367. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Texas Roadhouse Stock Performance

TXRH opened at $175.87 on Tuesday. Texas Roadhouse, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.75 and a twelve month high of $206.04. The firm has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $176.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.41.

Texas Roadhouse (NASDAQ:TXRH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.41 billion. Texas Roadhouse had a return on equity of 34.02% and a net margin of 8.07%. Equities analysts forecast that Texas Roadhouse, Inc. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Texas Roadhouse Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.68 per share. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Texas Roadhouse’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 18th. Texas Roadhouse’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.04%.

Texas Roadhouse Company Profile

Texas Roadhouse, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates casual dining restaurants in the United States and internationally. It also operates and franchises restaurants under the Texas Roadhouse, Bubba's 33, and Jaggers names in 49 states and ten internationally. Texas Roadhouse, Inc was founded in 1993 and is based in Louisville, Kentucky.