Financial Advocates Investment Management Sells 3,528 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Financial Advocates Investment Management decreased its holdings in shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 22.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,882 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,528 shares during the period. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $202,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Wendy’s by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fort Pitt Capital Group LLC now owns 218,037 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,698,000 after acquiring an additional 18,056 shares during the period. Legato Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Wendy’s by 6.7% in the second quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 107,217 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 6,733 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Wendy’s by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,745,202 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $46,559,000 after purchasing an additional 102,512 shares during the period. My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $296,000. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wendy’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $702,000. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wendy’s Price Performance

WEN stock opened at $16.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 2.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.01. The Wendy’s Company has a 12 month low of $15.61 and a 12 month high of $20.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.82.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The restaurant operator reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $570.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $577.15 million. Wendy’s had a net margin of 9.18% and a return on equity of 67.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Wendy’s Company will post 1 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.91%. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 101.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WEN shares. Barclays decreased their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $16.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Wendy’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wendy’s news, Director Matthew H. Peltz sold 1,000,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.18, for a total transaction of $17,180,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,943,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,728,745.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 17.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Wendy’s

The Wendy's Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a quick-service restaurant company in the United States and internationally. It operates through Wendy's U.S., Wendy's International, and Global Real Estate & Development segments. The company is involved in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants specializing in hamburger sandwiches.