Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 15.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 104,885 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 13,925 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $5,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.4% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 21,403,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,008,743,000 after acquiring an additional 292,968 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,770,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $790,392,000 after buying an additional 272,918 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 10,646,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $525,235,000 after buying an additional 550,804 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,481,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,641,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,017,000 after acquiring an additional 55,942 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

NYSE:WPM opened at $57.98 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $58.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.35. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1-year low of $38.37 and a 1-year high of $63.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.60, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.78.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.54% and a net margin of 50.44%. The company had revenue of $299.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.54 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 21st were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.69%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WPM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. TD Securities lowered their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

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.