Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Reduces Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. trimmed its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 691,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 59,878 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals accounts for approximately 2.3% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $81,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WPM. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 144.4% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WPM. UBS Group raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. TD Securities increased their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM opened at $116.09 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $132.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.94. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1-year low of $85.59 and a 1-year high of $165.76. The company has a market cap of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.51.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $901.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Wheaton Precious Metals’s revenue was up 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

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

About Wheaton Precious Metals

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.