Swiss National Bank Decreases Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,317,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $74,094,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,534,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,154,843,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,999 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 33.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,665,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $895,723,000 after purchasing an additional 3,692,594 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 22.5% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,456,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,207,000 after purchasing an additional 634,843 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 21.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,923,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,551,000 after buying an additional 513,890 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,541,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,356,000 after buying an additional 267,973 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

WPM opened at $73.82 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.69. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $43.18 and a 52-week high of $74.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.49 billion, a PE ratio of 55.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.74 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Canada upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.67.

Wheaton Precious Metals Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.