Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 666,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 11,896 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.31% of Wendy’s worth $15,079,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Putnam Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Wendy’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,978,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 32,758 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $741,000 after buying an additional 2,096 shares during the period. First Republic Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,855 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 3,401 shares during the period. Dean Capital Management raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 35,460 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 3,076 shares during the period. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 81,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,844,000 after buying an additional 22,961 shares during the period. 70.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 3,627,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total value of $79,987,896.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,705,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,612,228.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Liliana Esposito sold 64,701 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.26, for a total value of $1,375,543.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,591,629.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 3,627,569 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total value of $79,987,896.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,705,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,612,228.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,698,437 shares of company stock valued at $81,502,197 over the last 90 days. 20.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Wendy’s Stock Down 3.1 %
Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 10th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $528.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $525.77 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 44.37% and a net margin of 8.42%. Equities analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.
Wendy’s Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 119.05%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several analysts have issued reports on WEN shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $24.00 in a report on Thursday, May 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Finally, Argus upgraded Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.44.
About Wendy’s
The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.
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