Prudential Financial Inc. Has $12.51 Million Holdings in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,024,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 295,641 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 1.21% of Bloomin' Brands worth $12,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of BLMN. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,198 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Bloomin' Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $140,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bloomin' Brands by 63,457.9% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 12,076 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 12,057 shares during the period. Fruth Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Bloomin' Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $152,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management increased its stake in Bloomin' Brands by 527,533.3% in the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 15,829 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 15,826 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Bloomin' Brands from $10.00 to $9.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on 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. Bank of America cut Bloomin' Brands from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com raised Bloomin' Brands from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays set a $11.00 target price on shares of Bloomin' Brands and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have issued a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Bloomin' Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Bloomin' Brands

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.32, for a total transaction of $79,497.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.00% of the company's stock.

Bloomin' Brands Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of Bloomin' Brands stock traded down $0.04 on Wednesday, reaching $7.66. 419,152 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,823,159. The company has a market capitalization of $650.15 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.58 and a beta of 2.04. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $7.08 and a one year high of $29.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $10.27 and a 200 day moving average of $12.81.

Bloomin' Brands Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Bloomin' Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -40.27%.

Bloomin' Brands Company Profile

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.