Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $743,000 in WisdomTree, Inc. $WT

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 51,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP grew its position in WisdomTree by 1,679.0% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,206 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,082 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 163.0% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 2,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521 shares during the period. Quattro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WisdomTree during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in WisdomTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WisdomTree during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

NYSE:WT traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.20. 76,003 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,549,493. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.17 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.27. The company has a quick ratio of 4.18, a current ratio of 4.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.37. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 52 week low of $10.69 and a 52 week high of $19.85.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $159.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $156.96 million. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 33.31% and a net margin of 11.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 47.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 13th were given a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 13th. WisdomTree’s dividend payout ratio is 29.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO R Jarrett Lilien sold 30,000 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.99, for a total value of $569,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 1,110,245 shares in the company, valued at $21,083,552.55. This trade represents a 2.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider David M. Yates sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.06, for a total transaction of $270,900.00. Following the sale, 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. Corporate insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WT. Zacks Research raised shares of WisdomTree from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $16.80 target price on shares of WisdomTree in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WisdomTree from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 20th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on WisdomTree in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Northland Securities set a $22.00 price target on shares of WisdomTree in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.06.

WisdomTree Company 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.