LPL Financial LLC Has $1.90 Million Stock Holdings in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

LPL Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 31.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,303 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 52,608 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Wendy's worth $1,896,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEN. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wendy's by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 25,529 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Wendy's by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,400 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $979,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Wendy's by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 15,634 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $255,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Wendy's by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 44,056 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $718,000 after purchasing an additional 1,115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 price objective (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Wendy's from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a "sell" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.00 price objective on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Wendy's from $15.00 to $16.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $17.00 price target on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $17.97.

Wendy's Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WEN traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.68. The stock had a trading volume of 3,622,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,232,530. The Wendy's Company has a 12-month low of $12.05 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company's 50 day moving average is $14.55 and its 200-day moving average is $16.31.

Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy's had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. The company had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 EPS for the current year.

Wendy's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

About Wendy's

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.