Sei Investments Co. Sells 218,706 Shares of The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Sei Investments Co. trimmed its position in The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN - Free Report) by 55.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 173,701 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 218,706 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.09% of Wendy's worth $2,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Wendy's by 670.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,402 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 1,220 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Wendy's during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wendy's by 168.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,233 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Wendy's by 46.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Wendy's by 2,334.5% during the fourth quarter. Transcendent Capital Group LLC now owns 4,869 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the period. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $17.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Argus upgraded shares of Wendy's to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $16.00 target price on shares of Wendy's in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down from $20.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $14.00 price objective (down previously from $22.00) on shares of Wendy's in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $18.08.

Wendy's Stock Down 5.5 %

WEN stock traded down $0.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $13.30. The company had a trading volume of 6,413,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,111,681. The Wendy's Company has a 52 week low of $13.22 and a 52 week high of $20.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.00, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.48, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.83. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $14.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $16.65.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.01. Wendy's had a net margin of 8.65% and a return on equity of 75.56%. The business had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $564.17 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Wendy's Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wendy's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.52%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Wendy's's payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

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.