Man Group plc Makes New Investment in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 284,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,644,000. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.14% of Wendy's as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $370,000. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 46.5% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 801,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $13,065,000 after buying an additional 254,443 shares in the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP bought a new position in shares of Wendy's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $215,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 676,493 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,027,000 after buying an additional 34,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,133,832 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,081,000 after buying an additional 90,380 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 203,005 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,600,494.05. This trade represents a 40.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $15.00 in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Wendy's from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Wendy's from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their target price on Wendy's from $26.00 to $21.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy's Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN opened at $11.62 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $13.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $15.21. The Wendy's Company has a 1-year low of $11.58 and a 1-year high of $20.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The business had revenue of $523.47 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.23 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is presently 59.57%.

Wendy's Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.