Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Shares Sold by Axa S.A.

AXA S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 25.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 321,135 shares of the company's stock after selling 108,996 shares during the quarter. AXA S.A. owned approximately 0.07% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $18,061,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at $20,790,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,769 shares of the company's stock worth $2,293,000 after buying an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,196,000 after buying an additional 26,924 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 399,035 shares of the company's stock worth $22,442,000 after purchasing an additional 33,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM traded down $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $84.95. 1,698,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,658,083. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $77.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.40, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.49. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12-month low of $51.96 and a 12-month high of $87.42.

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

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.165 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is currently 56.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WPM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Canada raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.40.

Wheaton Precious Metals 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.