The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) Shares Bought by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,758 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,096 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the second quarter valued at $41,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 85.1% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Convergence Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy’s in the third quarter valued at $103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.59% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Wendy’s stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.99, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.91. The Wendy’s Company has a 52 week low of $16.06 and a 52 week high of $23.90.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 10th. The restaurant operator reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $528.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $525.77 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 44.37% and a net margin of 8.42%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.27%. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio is 119.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 1-800-FLOWERS.COM restated a “maintains” rating on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, May 11th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Wendy’s from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Argus upgraded Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Wendy’s in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.44.

Insider Activity at Wendy’s

In related news, insider Liliana Esposito sold 6,167 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total transaction of $138,757.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,684,462.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 3,627,569 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total transaction of $79,987,896.45. Following 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Liliana Esposito sold 6,167 shares of Wendy’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $138,757.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,865 shares in the company, valued at $1,684,462.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,698,437 shares of company stock worth $81,502,197 over the last three months. Company insiders own 20.10% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Company Profile

(Get Rating)

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.