Nuveen LLC Acquires New Position in WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC acquired 1,906,220 shares of WisdomTree, Inc. for approximately $17 million, which represents a 1.30% stake in the company as of their latest SEC filing.
• WisdomTree recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9%, with an ex-dividend date of August 13th.
• Analysts have upgraded WisdomTree's target price, with Oppenheimer setting a new target of $15.00 and Northcoast Research giving a "buy" rating, contributing to an overall consensus of a "Moderate Buy."

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,906,220 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,003,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 1.30% of WisdomTree at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WT. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WisdomTree by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 42,908 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of WisdomTree by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 18,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,951 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC grew its position 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 during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of WisdomTree by 1,778.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of WisdomTree by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $833,000 after buying an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

Shares of WT stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.39. The stock had a trading volume of 2,893,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,138,885. WisdomTree, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $7.47 and a fifty-two week high of $13.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $12.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.30.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.18 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.16 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 13th will be paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.77%.

Insider Activity at WisdomTree

In other news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WT. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $9.50 to $11.90 in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Northcoast Research raised shares of WisdomTree from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $13.15.

WisdomTree Company 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.