Clearbridge Investments LLC Takes Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

by · The Markets Daily

Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 575,559 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,640,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WPM. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter worth $331,000. Focus Partners Wealth raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter worth $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter worth $239,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of WPM opened at $114.88 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12-month low of $85.59 and a 12-month high of $165.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $131.64. The stock has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.51.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 65.55%.The business had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $868.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.98 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WPM. UBS Group raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, March 27th. TD Securities boosted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Zacks Research cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.64.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Wheaton Precious Metals

About Wheaton Precious Metals

(Free Report)

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.

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