Treasurer of the State of North Carolina Has $1.68 Million Stock Position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN – Get Rating) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,023 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 940 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,675,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Wendy’s by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 43,385 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 171,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,198,000 after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 83,122 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 813 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,067 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 954 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 14,324 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares during the period. 70.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 3,627,569 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,705,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $478,612,228.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Liliana Esposito sold 64,701 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.26, for a total transaction of $1,375,543.26. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 3,627,569 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $478,612,228.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,698,437 shares of company stock valued at $81,502,197. 20.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wendy’s Trading Down 0.4 %

WEN stock opened at $23.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.99, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 2.50. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.13. The Wendy’s Company has a one year low of $16.06 and a one year high of $23.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $528.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $525.77 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.42% and a return on equity of 44.37%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 1st will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 31st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is presently 119.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus raised Wendy’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Wendy’s from $23.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Northcoast Research cut Wendy’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 17th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $24.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.44.

About Wendy’s

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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.