Swiss National Bank Cuts Position in Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN)

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLMN) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 150,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.18% of Bloomin’ Brands worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BLMN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 6.2% in 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 during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Bloomin’ Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,325,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,390,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $29,190,000 after buying an additional 10,635 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Bloomin’ Brands by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,414,415 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,270,000 after purchasing an additional 159,356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Bloomin’ Brands by 34.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,381,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,830,000 after buying an additional 356,456 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Patrick M. Hafner sold 9,555 shares of Bloomin’ Brands stock in a transaction 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLMN has been the topic of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Bloomin’ Brands from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. UBS Group dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Bloomin’ Brands from $16.00 to $12.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $18.00 to $13.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Bloomin’ Brands from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and ten have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $14.50.

Bloomin’ Brands Trading Down 8.0 %

NASDAQ:BLMN opened at $7.41 on Friday. Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $7.37 and a 1 year high of $29.10. The business has a fifty day moving average of $10.44 and a 200-day moving average of $12.98. 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 stock has a market cap of $629.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.36 and a beta of 2.04.

Bloomin’ Brands Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.10%. Bloomin’ Brands’s payout ratio is -40.27%.

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.