Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 63.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 55,241 shares during the quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $1,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 95,730 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,746,000 after purchasing an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,206,000 after purchasing an additional 8,480 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,303,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 106.9% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 31.9% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 11,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 2,868 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WPM shares. National Bank Financial lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $49.00 target price for the company. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.63.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of WPM opened at $51.27 on Wednesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $38.37 and a twelve month high of $54.30. The company has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.08, a P/E/G ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 52.92% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business had revenue of $313.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.29 million. Analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 2nd. This is a boost from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.10%.

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.