Marshall Wace LLP Has $14.97 Million Stake in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 483.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,225,608 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 1,015,372 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 1.44% of Bloomin' Brands worth $14,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLMN. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 22.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,186 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 29.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 219,080 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 49,723 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 2.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,007 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Bloomin' Brands by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,529,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $41,806,000 after purchasing an additional 147,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 606.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,890 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 4,198 shares during the period.

Bloomin' Brands Price Performance

NASDAQ BLMN traded down $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $8.29. 1,916,896 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,947,526. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $8.54 and a 200-day moving average of $11.74. The stock has a market cap of $704.08 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -75.36 and a beta of 1.76. Bloomin' Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $6.09 and a 52 week high of $27.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.46.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.24%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

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 dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLMN. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price 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 cut shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Bloomin' Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.30.

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.