LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Takes $2.75 Million Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Key Points

• LGT Fund Management initiated a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals, buying 20,907 shares valued at about $2.75 million in the first quarter.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with 70.34% of WPM stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors, and several other funds also recently increased their stakes.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: WPM has 12 Buy ratings and 1 Hold, with a consensus Moderate Buy and average price target of $161.55, even though the stock recently opened at $110.06.

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 20,907 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,745,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Parvin Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC now owns 11,925 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 20,465 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,405,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,079 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 3,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WPM shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen increased 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. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $161.55.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

NYSE WPM opened at $110.06 on Monday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $123.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $132.56. The company has a market cap of $49.98 billion, a PE ratio of 27.79, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.35 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 65.55%.The firm's revenue was up 91.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.55 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

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

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