Citigroup Inc. Raises Stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 10.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 550,642 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,635 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $33,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.6% in the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $66.50 to $72.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.67.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM opened at $60.94 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $63.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.48, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.77. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $38.57 and a 52-week high of $68.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $308.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.57 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st will be given a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.27%.

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.