AlphaQuest LLC Purchases 107,900 Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in WisdomTree, Inc. by 133.4%, acquiring an additional 107,900 shares and bringing its total ownership to 188,765 shares, valued at approximately $1.68 million.
• WisdomTree reported earnings per share of $0.18 in its last quarterly results, matching analysts' expectations, with a net margin of 16.25% and year-over-year revenue growth of 5.2%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 30.77%.

AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT - Free Report) by 133.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,765 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 107,900 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC owned 0.13% of WisdomTree worth $1,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WT. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in WisdomTree by 1,778.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of WisdomTree by 114.0% in the first quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 2,052 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 310.5% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 5,263 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 758.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 6,986 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 6,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in WisdomTree in the 4th quarter valued at about $108,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Craig Hallum restated a "buy" rating on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Monday, August 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on WisdomTree from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of WisdomTree from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted 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 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $13.15.

WisdomTree Price Performance

WT stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.45. The stock had a trading volume of 5,781,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,188,534. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $10.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $7.47 and a 52 week high of $13.79.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.18 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $112.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.66 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 13th. WisdomTree's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.77%.

About WisdomTree

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.