WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $12.14 and last traded at $11.98, with a volume of 955784 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $11.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WT. Craig Hallum raised their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Northland Securities upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $12.00 to $13.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Northcoast Research cut WisdomTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, September 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WisdomTree has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $12.25.

WisdomTree Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $10.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.43 and a beta of 1.43.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. WisdomTree’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Transactions at WisdomTree

In related news, CEO Jonathan L. Steinberg bought 67,869 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average price of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $735,699.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 9,240,707 shares in the company, valued at $100,169,263.88. This represents a 0.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Peter M. Ziemba sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.43, for a total transaction of $1,143,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 948,386 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,840,051.98. This represents a 9.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On WisdomTree

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of WisdomTree by 390.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,859,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,562,000 after buying an additional 2,276,452 shares during the last quarter. Azora Capital LP lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. Azora Capital LP now owns 10,609,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,990,000 after buying an additional 1,142,151 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in WisdomTree by 92.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,922,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,051,000 after acquiring an additional 923,994 shares during the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS bought a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the second quarter worth about $5,748,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WisdomTree during the second quarter worth $4,258,000. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.