Wendy's Stock Drops After Activist Investor Discloses Reduced Stake

Wendy's Co.'s stock dropped 2.3% in afternoon trade Tuesday, after it was disclosed that billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz reduced his stake in the fast-food chain. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday showed that Peltz owned 54.8 million shares, or 22.3% of Wendy's shares outstanding, down from a previous stake of 24.7%. The filing showed that funds controlled by Peltz sold 5.5 million shares in a privately negotiated transaction on Monday at a price of $15.97, which was 0.7% below Monday's intraday low of $16.08. Wendy's stock has now lost 4.9% since closing at a 10-year high of $16.57 on May 25. The stock has run up 16.6% year to date, while shares of rival McDonald's Corp. have rallied 24.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 8.6%. (This clarifies and adds new information to a previous report about holdings of a fund, Trian Fund Management, that is managed by Peltz.)