Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 273,688 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 624,631 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 273,688 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.32% of Wendy's worth $9,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEN. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Wendy's by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $979,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 11,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 6.6% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 21,576 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Wendy's by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 6,625 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Wendy's

In other Wendy's news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.68 per share, with a total value of $58,984.00. Following the purchase, the chief marketing officer owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.81, for a total value of $1,752,651.39. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 17.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wendy's Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ WEN opened at $11.68 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.34. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $10.91 and a 52 week high of $20.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 24.88, a quick ratio of 1.47 and a current ratio of 1.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $11.79 and a 200-day moving average of $13.74.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.20. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $530.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. Wendy's's revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's payout ratio is 59.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Wendy's from $14.00 to $13.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wendy's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $16.34.

Wendy's Profile

The Wendy's Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It operates through the following segments: Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate and Development. The Wendy's U.S. segment includes the operation and franchising of Wendy's restaurants in the U.S.

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