Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stock Holdings in WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• The Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in WisdomTree, Inc. by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 77,787 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 362,931 shares worth approximately $3.2 million.
• Multiple institutional investors have also increased their stakes in WisdomTree, with Bank of America Corp DE reporting a 93.8% increase in holdings in the fourth quarter.
• Research analysts have generally rated WisdomTree positively, with an average consensus of "Moderate Buy" and a price target of $13.15, reflecting optimism about its financial performance and potential growth.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 27.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 362,931 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 77,787 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned approximately 0.25% of WisdomTree worth $3,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in WisdomTree by 0.4% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,698,844 shares of the company's stock worth $32,994,000 after purchasing an additional 13,746 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 532.6% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,031,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,710,409 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WisdomTree in the first quarter valued at $17,003,000. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,500,371 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,754,000 after acquiring an additional 142,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,440,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,122,000 after acquiring an additional 15,489 shares in the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WT shares. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $11.50 to $12.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped 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 research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Northcoast Research upgraded WisdomTree from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WisdomTree has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.15.

WisdomTree Trading Up 2.4%

NYSE WT traded up $0.3050 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $13.2350. 2,483,675 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,164,783. The business's 50 day moving average is $12.42 and its 200-day moving average is $10.22. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 12-month low of $7.47 and a 12-month high of $13.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.44.

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 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.66 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.33, for a total value of $333,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,048,638 shares in the company, valued at $13,978,344.54. This trade represents a 2.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.