Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires 87,398 Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in WisdomTree, Inc. by 45.5%, now owning approximately 0.19% of the company worth $2.49 million after acquiring additional shares during the first quarter.
• WisdomTree recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 0.9%, with a dividend payout ratio of 30.77%.
• Several institutional investors have also significantly raised their positions in WisdomTree, with over 78.64% of the stock now held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 279,422 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 87,398 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned about 0.19% of WisdomTree worth $2,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WT. Quarry LP raised its stake in WisdomTree by 1,778.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the period. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in WisdomTree by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in WisdomTree by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 758.2% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 6,172 shares during the period. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 1st quarter valued at about $94,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total value of $333,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,048,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,978,344.54. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WT traded up $0.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $13.74. The stock had a trading volume of 2,936,675 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,993,766. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $13.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22 and a beta of 1.19.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.18. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 16.25%.The firm had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.66 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $9.50 to $11.90 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on WisdomTree from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on WisdomTree from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $16.00 price target on WisdomTree in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.56.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates as an exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sponsor and asset manager. It offers ETFs in equities, currency, fixed income, and alternatives asset classes. The company also licenses its indexes to third parties for proprietary products, as well as offers a platform to promote the use of WisdomTree ETFs in 401(k) plans.