Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Decreases Stock Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. reduced its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,484 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $2,330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth $20,790,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 8,331 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,196,000 after acquiring an additional 26,924 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 399,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,442,000 after acquiring an additional 33,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WPM opened at $81.62 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $37.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $75.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.40. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $51.80 and a fifty-two week high of $87.42.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. This is a boost from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is 56.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WPM. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Canada raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.40.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

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.