Northern Trust Corp Has $12.28 Million Position in WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp has reduced its stake in WisdomTree, selling 63,696 shares, which lowered its ownership to approximately 1,376,501 shares valued at $12.28 million.
• Several other institutional investors have increased their positions in WisdomTree, with notable investments from Millennium Management LLC and Nuveen Asset Management LLC.
• WisdomTree reported earnings of $0.18 per share for the last quarter, exceeding revenue expectations of $112.60 million, marking a 5.2% increase compared to the previous year.

Northern Trust Corp trimmed its stake in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,376,501 shares of the company's stock after selling 63,696 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.94% of WisdomTree worth $12,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in WisdomTree by 44.3% in the first quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 92,233 shares of the company's stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 28,310 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WisdomTree by 11.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 369,747 shares of the company's stock worth $3,298,000 after buying an additional 37,343 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in WisdomTree by 758.2% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,986 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WisdomTree in the first quarter worth approximately $466,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in WisdomTree by 27.3% in the first quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 362,931 shares of the company's stock worth $3,237,000 after buying an additional 77,787 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WT shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on WisdomTree from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, August 18th. Northcoast Research upgraded WisdomTree from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $9.50 to $11.90 in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $16.00 price target on WisdomTree in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.56.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WT traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $13.68. The stock had a trading volume of 2,513,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,529,287. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $14.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.60.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. WisdomTree had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 25.17%. The company had revenue of $112.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th were paid a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 12,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.21, for a total value of $165,125.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 1,036,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,687,382.98. This trade represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

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.