Insider Selling: MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) Insider Sells $76,043.22 in Stock

MarketWise, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKTW) insider Erik Mickels sold 3,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.14, for a total value of $76,043.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 75,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,437,241.74. This trade represents a 5.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

MarketWise Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKTW opened at $18.86 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $17.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $294.78 million, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 0.26. MarketWise, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.49 and a 12 month high of $21.74.

MarketWise (NASDAQ:MKTW) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The newsletter publisher reported ($0.23) EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $77.03 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.74 million. MarketWise had a negative return on equity of 1.86% and a net margin of 1.29%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MarketWise, Inc. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

MarketWise Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.3%. This is a positive change from MarketWise’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. MarketWise’s payout ratio is currently 60.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MarketWise

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MarketWise by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,174 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock valued at $509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,275 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in MarketWise by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,047 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 773 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in MarketWise by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 152,631 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $2,293,000 after purchasing an additional 9,961 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of MarketWise by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,737 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 1,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in MarketWise by 52.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,199 shares of the newsletter publisher’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 757 shares during the last quarter. 23.04% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MarketWise from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MarketWise from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

About MarketWise

MarketWise, Inc operates a content and technology multi-brand platform for self-directed investors in the United States and Internationally. Its platform includes subscription businesses that provides financial research, software, education, and tools to navigate the financial markets. The company offers various investment strategies, such as value investing, income, growth, commodities, cryptocurrencies, venture, crowdfunded investing, biotechnology, mutual funds, options, and trading; investment research product portfolio through a range of media, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile; and financial newsletters.