Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 1,817 Shares of The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in The Wendy’s Company (NASDAQ:WEN) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,450 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,817 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wendy’s were worth $1,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Wendy’s by 159.6% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 6,440,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $112,844,000 after purchasing an additional 3,959,480 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Wendy’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,187,593 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $90,887,000 after acquiring an additional 37,801 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,097,836 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $54,287,000 after acquiring an additional 115,875 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in Wendy’s in the fourth quarter worth about $13,358,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Wendy’s by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 772,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $12,593,000 after acquiring an additional 80,055 shares in the last quarter. 85.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WEN shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $17.00 price target (down previously from $20.00) on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Wendy’s from $15.50 to $16.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Wendy’s from $17.00 to $15.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $16.00 price target on shares of Wendy’s in a research report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $18.08.

Wendy’s Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ WEN opened at $15.53 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.93. The Wendy’s Company has a 52-week low of $13.72 and a 52-week high of $20.65.

Wendy’s (NASDAQ:WEN) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $574.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $564.17 million. Wendy’s had a return on equity of 75.56% and a net margin of 8.65%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Wendy’s Company will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Wendy’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Wendy’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 105.26%.

Wendy’s Profile

The Wendy’s Co engages in operating, developing, and franchising a system of quick-service restaurants. It offers hamburgers and related products, such as chicken breast sandwiches, nuggets, chili, and baked potatoes, French fries, freshly prepared salads, soft drinks, milk, coffee, frosty deserts, and kid’s meals.