Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 551,059 Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its WisdomTree stake: Vanguard Group sold 551,059 shares in the fourth quarter, reducing its position by 3.8% to 14,001,755 shares worth about $170.7 million. It still owned roughly 9.95% of WisdomTree.
• WisdomTree posted stronger-than-expected earnings: The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.27, topping estimates by $0.02, while revenue rose 47.5% year over year to $159.5 million. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 1.11.
• The stock has mixed signals from analysts and insiders: Several analysts maintained or raised targets, leaving the consensus rating at Moderate Buy with an average price target of $18.47, even as recent insider sales and some rating downgrades added caution.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,001,755 shares of the company's stock after selling 551,059 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 9.95% of WisdomTree worth $170,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 33,453 shares of the company's stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares during the period. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the fourth quarter worth $189,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 51,777 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 5,650 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 16,739 shares of the company's stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,751 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 64.2% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 108,893 shares of the company's stock worth $1,327,000 after purchasing an additional 42,561 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WisdomTree

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.84, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 1,140,245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,201,725.80. The trade was a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 157,499 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,844,431.94. This trade represents 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 insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WT. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of WisdomTree from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of WisdomTree from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $20.00 price target on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $16.80 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of WisdomTree from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.47.

WisdomTree Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WT opened at $19.11 on Monday. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 52-week low of $9.24 and a 52-week high of $19.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $16.03 and a 200 day moving average of $14.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a PE ratio of 46.61 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37, a quick ratio of 4.18 and a current ratio of 4.57.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02. WisdomTree had a net margin of 11.26% and a return on equity of 33.31%. The company had revenue of $159.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 47.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

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

WisdomTree Profile

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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