Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 32,679 Shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Geode Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,811,901 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 32,679 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.14% of Bloomin' Brands worth $22,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BLMN. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 455,010 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,556,000 after buying an additional 405,003 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bloomin' Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 385.6% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,817,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,442,964 shares in the last quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $849,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $13.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Bloomin' Brands has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.30.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 3.9 %

NASDAQ BLMN traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $8.10. 338,448 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,939,933. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.09 and a twelve month high of $27.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $687.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -73.86 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business's 50-day moving average is $8.54 and its 200-day moving average is $11.74.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.41%. Bloomin' Brands's payout ratio is -40.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.