Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Stock Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,939 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,572 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.05% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $13,892,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter valued at about $472,648,000. Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 294,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,591,000 after buying an additional 105,573 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 72.1% during the fourth quarter. Mufg Securities Canada LTD. now owns 692,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,968,000 after acquiring an additional 290,192 shares in the last quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 109.1% in the fourth quarter. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC now owns 2,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,156,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,627,000 after acquiring an additional 629,743 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WPM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Canada raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 1.0 %

Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $76.89 on Wednesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $48.00 and a twelve month high of $78.05. The company has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.38, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.19 and its 200 day moving average is $64.03.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $380.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This is an increase from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.90%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company 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.