WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Sees Large Volume Increase – What’s Next?

Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 6,363,289 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 67% from the previous session’s volume of 3,801,534 shares.The stock last traded at $14.3320 and had previously closed at $13.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Northland Securities set a $20.00 price objective on WisdomTree in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on WisdomTree from $14.00 to $15.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $16.75 price target on WisdomTree in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Zacks Research upgraded WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $17.65.

WisdomTree Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $15.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $13.75. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 1.09.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $147.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.78 million. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 30.24% and a net margin of 22.10%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 earnings per share for the current year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 11th were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 11th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. WisdomTree’s payout ratio is currently 16.00%.

Insider Activity at WisdomTree

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 25th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $19,201,725.80. This trade represents a 2.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of WisdomTree

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WT. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 27.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 524,014 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,284,000 after acquiring an additional 112,542 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in WisdomTree by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 854,509 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,878,000 after acquiring an additional 279,296 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in WisdomTree by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 469,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,520,000 after purchasing an additional 74,070 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in WisdomTree in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,248,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its stake in WisdomTree by 18.7% in the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 591,244 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,218,000 after purchasing an additional 93,094 shares in the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.