New York State Teachers Retirement System Makes New Investment in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT)

New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 213,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,479,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in WisdomTree during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,291,000. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WisdomTree during the third quarter worth approximately $103,908,000. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in WisdomTree in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,096,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in WisdomTree in the third quarter worth approximately $7,091,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank acquired a new position in WisdomTree during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,723,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WisdomTree

In other WisdomTree news, CEO Jonathan L. Steinberg acquired 303,781 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $7.20 per share, with a total value of $2,187,223.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 9,172,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,044,433.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WisdomTree Stock Performance

Shares of WT stock opened at $8.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $8.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $7.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.23. WisdomTree, Inc. has a 1 year low of $6.05 and a 1 year high of $9.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36 and a beta of 1.49.

WisdomTree (NYSE:WT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 2nd. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.01. WisdomTree had a return on equity of 15.15% and a net margin of 29.38%. The firm had revenue of $90.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $90.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.04 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that WisdomTree, Inc. will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current year.

WisdomTree Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 14th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 13th. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. WisdomTree’s payout ratio is 18.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities upgraded shares of WisdomTree from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $12.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group raised their price target on WisdomTree from $9.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Northcoast Research raised WisdomTree from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $9.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 28th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on WisdomTree in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $12.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on WisdomTree from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $10.71.

WisdomTree Profile

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.