Northern Trust Corp Sells 63,696 Shares of 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 decreased its holdings in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 4.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the 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 SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 2,052 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 310.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,263 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 6,172 shares in the last quarter. PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, Personal CFO Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the 1st quarter valued at $111,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $9.50 to $11.90 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $16.00 target price on shares of WisdomTree in a research report 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 MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.56.

WisdomTree Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:WT traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.43. 4,904,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,064,293. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.43 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 company's 50 day moving average is $13.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.52. WisdomTree, Inc. has a twelve month low of $7.47 and a twelve month high of $14.07.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.18. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 16.25%.The company had revenue of $112.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.66 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 13th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 13th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 25,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,048,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,978,344.54. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

WisdomTree Profile

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.