Franklin Resources Inc. Makes New $888,000 Investment in WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT)

Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WisdomTree, Inc. (NYSE:WT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 87,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $888,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in WisdomTree by 21.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,332,762 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,304,000 after acquiring an additional 410,348 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd increased its stake in WisdomTree by 180.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 115,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,152,000 after buying an additional 74,173 shares during the period. Crawford Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in WisdomTree by 34.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crawford Fund Management LLC now owns 499,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,994,000 after buying an additional 126,700 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of WisdomTree by 586.0% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 250,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 213,571 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in WisdomTree by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,191,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,899,000 after purchasing an additional 72,376 shares during the period. 78.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WisdomTree Price Performance

Shares of WisdomTree stock opened at $10.57 on Monday. WisdomTree, Inc. has a twelve month low of $6.57 and a twelve month high of $12.45. The firm has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a PE ratio of 36.45 and a beta of 1.46. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $11.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.43.

WisdomTree Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. WisdomTree’s payout ratio is 41.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Jonathan L. Steinberg acquired 67,869 shares of WisdomTree stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $10.84 per share, for a total transaction of $735,699.96. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 9,240,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $100,169,263.88. This represents a 0.74 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Etfs Capital Limited. sold 3,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.34, for a total transaction of $34,020,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,915,000. This trade represents a 19.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Northcoast Research lowered WisdomTree from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of WisdomTree from $12.00 to $14.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WisdomTree currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $12.79.

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.