Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 2.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 265,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $34,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at about $864,977,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,955,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,977 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,912,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,540 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,469,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,700,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1,655.4% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,245,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,799 shares during the period. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM opened at $107.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.26, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.55. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1-year low of $87.96 and a 1-year high of $165.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $122.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.46.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $868.35 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WPM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, June 29th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, TD Securities lifted their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $161.55.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

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.