AlphaQuest LLC Buys 148,535 Shares of WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) by 372.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 188,381 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 148,535 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC owned approximately 0.13% of WisdomTree worth $2,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simcoe Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of WisdomTree by 23.5% during the second quarter. Simcoe Capital Management LLC now owns 4,924,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,682,000 after acquiring an additional 935,505 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in WisdomTree by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,425,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,411,000 after buying an additional 107,076 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of WisdomTree by 1,119.9% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,423,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306,620 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of WisdomTree in the second quarter valued at $15,649,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 1,432.7% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,202,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,293 shares during the last quarter. 78.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WisdomTree Price Performance

Shares of WisdomTree stock opened at $16.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 2.82 and a quick ratio of 2.41. WisdomTree, Inc. has a one year low of $7.47 and a one year high of $17.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.03 and a beta of 1.08.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $147.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $142.78 million. WisdomTree had a net margin of 21.10% and a return on equity of 26.59%. The company’s revenue was up 33.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Analysts forecast that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.72 EPS for the current year.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. WisdomTree’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.46%.

Key Stories Impacting WisdomTree

Here are the key news stories impacting WisdomTree this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — WisdomTree reported $0.29 EPS vs. a $0.23 consensus and revenue of $147.4M (up ~33% YoY), with strong profitability metrics (net margin ~21%, ROE ~26.6%). Those results support the company’s growth narrative and help justify current valuation. Zacks: Q4 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Management material available — the company posted a conference call transcript, slide deck and press release; investors should review commentary on AUM trends, flows and any forward guidance for signs of sustainability. MarketBeat: Listen to Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend announced — WisdomTree declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03/share (annualized yield ~0.7%, ex-dividend Feb 11); it signals shareholder returns but the yield is modest and unlikely to materially move the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings coverage/transcript resources — a full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors wanting management color on margins, product performance and flows. Yahoo Finance: Q4 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley reaffirmed a Hold — the firm kept a neutral stance, which is balanced but not bullish. Globe and Mail: Morgan Stanley Reaffirms Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade pressure — Zacks cut WisdomTree from “strong?buy” to “hold,” removing some buy-side momentum and potentially limiting short?term upside. TickerReport / Zacks downgrade

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WT shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of WisdomTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on WisdomTree from $13.50 to $14.75 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of WisdomTree from $14.75 to $13.25 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Northland Securities set a $19.00 target price on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of WisdomTree from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.80.

Insider Activity at WisdomTree

In other WisdomTree news, insider David M. Yates sold 6,820 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.12, for a total value of $75,838.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 152,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,691,607.76. The trade was a 4.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.77, for a total value of $294,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,011,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,901,094.26. This trade represents a 2.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 44,320 shares of company stock valued at $507,713 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.30% of the company’s stock.

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.