Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) Shares Purchased by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,649,084 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,525 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Bloomin’ Brands were worth $20,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,371 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 606.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 4,198 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $140,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Bloomin’ Brands by 63,457.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 12,057 shares during the period. Finally, Fruth Investment Management acquired a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $152,000.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 3.7 %

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $7.88 on Wednesday. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $7.75 and a 12 month high of $29.10. The firm has a market cap of $669.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -71.63 and a beta of 2.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46. The company’s 50 day moving average is $11.01 and its 200-day moving average is $13.44.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin’ Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BLMN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin’ Brands

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total value of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

About Bloomin’ Brands

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc engages in the acquisition, operation, design, and development of restaurant concepts. It operates through the U.S. and International geographical segments. The U.S. segment operates in the USA and Puerto Rico. The International segment operates in Brazil, South Korea, Hong Kong, and China.