Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,079,029 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 289,939 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $2,242,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 36.2% in the third quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,955,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,977 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 53.0% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,197,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,572 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 26.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,455,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,270,000 after acquiring an additional 1,335,588 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1,655.4% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,245,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,333,000 after acquiring an additional 1,174,799 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 158.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,458,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,224,000 after acquiring an additional 893,733 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

NYSE:WPM opened at $124.58 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.19. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $75.42 and a fifty-two week high of $165.76. The firm has a market cap of $56.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.60.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.31. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 63.58%.The business had revenue of $864.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $719.59 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 127.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.07%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.45.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a Canada-based precious metals streaming company that acquires and manages long-term purchase agreements for metals produced by mining companies. Rather than operating mines, Wheaton provides upfront and ongoing financing to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced — typically silver and gold, and occasionally other precious metals — at predetermined prices. This streaming business model offers investors exposure to metal production with reduced operating and capital-cost risk compared with traditional mining companies.

The company’s activities center on structuring and maintaining a diversified portfolio of streaming agreements across multiple jurisdictions.