Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 190,241 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lowered its stake in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 3.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,845,173 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 190,241 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $102,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WEN. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Wendy’s by 483.2% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 1,551 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Wendy’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 85.96% of the company’s stock.

Wendy’s Stock Performance

NASDAQ WEN opened at $18.39 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.60. The Wendy’s Company has a 12-month low of $15.61 and a 12-month high of $20.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.64. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.79.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The restaurant operator reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.25. Wendy’s had a net margin of 8.76% and a return on equity of 70.02%. The business had revenue of $566.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. Wendy’s’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Wendy’s’s payout ratio is currently 105.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $18.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $20.00 to $19.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Tigress Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $29.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Wendy’s from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $20.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $20.36.

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.