Cerity Partners LLC Sells 29,780 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 15.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 165,488 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 29,780 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC owned 0.08% of Wendy's worth $2,421,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wendy's by 7.8% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 372,027 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,443,000 after buying an additional 26,761 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its position in Wendy's by 22.0% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 7,223 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303 shares during the period. OMNI 360 Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Wendy's during the first quarter valued at approximately $211,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in Wendy's by 49.1% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 15,677 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 5,163 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wendy's in the first quarter worth approximately $399,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Wendy's Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WEN opened at $10.47 on Friday. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $11.51 and its 200-day moving average is $13.33. The Wendy's Company has a 52-week low of $10.33 and a 52-week high of $20.60. The company has a market cap of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.34.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The company had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.57% and a return on equity of 85.36%. The company's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Wendy's

In other news, CMO Lindsay J. Radkoski acquired 5,050 shares of Wendy's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $11.68 per share, for a total transaction of $58,984.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief marketing officer directly owned 28,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $338,206.08. This represents a 21.12% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $1,752,651.39. Following the sale, the insider owned 203,005 shares in the company, valued at $2,600,494.05. The trade was a 40.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Wendy's from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $14.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $13.00 price objective on Wendy's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wendy's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $15.63.

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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