Northern Trust Corp Has $25.68 Million Stock Position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 24.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,575,420 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 308,142 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.77% of Wendy's worth $25,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the third quarter worth about $763,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Wendy's by 168.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Wendy's by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 152,549 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,673,000 after buying an additional 2,087 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Wendy's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $516,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEN. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Wendy's from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Wendy's from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $17.00 to $15.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $16.34.

Wendy's Stock Performance

Shares of Wendy's stock traded up $0.15 during trading on Friday, hitting $12.11. 1,041,082 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,262,650. 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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.40. The Wendy's Company has a 1-year low of $11.70 and a 1-year high of $20.60.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.20. The business had revenue of $523.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $530.11 million. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Wendy's's quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio is 59.57%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Abigail E. Pringle sold 136,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 17.00% of the company's stock.

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.