UBS Group AG Increases Position in WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• UBS Group AG sharply increased its stake in WisdomTree during the fourth quarter, boosting its holdings by 654.6% to 1,133,254 shares valued at about $13.8 million. Several other institutional investors also raised positions, and hedge funds now own 78.64% of the company.
• WisdomTree beat earnings expectations in its latest quarterly report, posting $0.27 EPS versus the $0.25 consensus and revenue of $159.5 million, up 47.5% year over year. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with a target price of $18.47.
• The stock has been trading near its 52-week high, opening at $19.79 and reaching a 12-month high of $19.85. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, payable May 27, for an annualized yield of 0.6%.

UBS Group AG raised its position in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 654.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,133,254 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 983,070 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.81% of WisdomTree worth $13,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WT. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in WisdomTree by 236.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,674,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,477,000 after purchasing an additional 6,799,654 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree during the third quarter worth about $24,125,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in WisdomTree by 463.8% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,697,707 shares of the company's stock worth $23,598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,396,569 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree during the second quarter worth about $15,649,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in WisdomTree by 1,432.7% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,202,765 shares of the company's stock worth $13,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,293 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $18.00 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research lowered shares of WisdomTree from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of WisdomTree from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial started coverage on WisdomTree in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They set an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on WisdomTree in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.47.

WisdomTree Stock Up 1.5%

WisdomTree stock opened at $19.79 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $16.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.49. The company has a current ratio of 4.57, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. WisdomTree, Inc. has a twelve month low of $9.24 and a twelve month high of $19.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.27 and a beta of 1.13.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.02. WisdomTree had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 33.31%. The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.16 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 47.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 13th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,140,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,201,725.80. This represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider David M. Yates sold 15,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $270,900.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 157,499 shares in the company, valued at $2,844,431.94. The trade was a 8.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 10.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About WisdomTree

WisdomTree Investments, Inc NYSE: WT is a U.S.-based asset management firm specializing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded products (ETPs). Founded in 2006 by Jonathan Steinberg and headquartered in New York City, WisdomTree has developed a reputation for pioneering smart-beta and fundamentally weighted indexing approaches. The company designs strategies that seek to enhance returns and reduce volatility by weighting constituents based on dividends, earnings or other financial metrics rather than relying solely on market capitalization.

WisdomTree offers a broad suite of investment products covering equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities and digital assets.

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