Royal Bank of Canada Sells 272,708 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Key Points

• The Royal Bank of Canada reduced its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. by 2.9%, selling 272,708 shares, bringing its total ownership to 9,152,222 shares valued at approximately $710 million.
• Wheaton Precious Metals recently reported earnings of $0.63 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 68.2% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.165 per share, with a payout ratio of 38.15% and an annualized yield of 0.7%.

Royal Bank of Canada trimmed its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,152,222 shares of the company's stock after selling 272,708 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 2.02% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $710,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.9% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. grew its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Asahi Life Asset Management CO. LTD. now owns 5,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,737 shares of the company's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 9.0% during the first quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,823 shares of the company's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.9% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 5,715 shares of the company's stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 3.3%

Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $100.43 on Friday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52 week low of $55.47 and a 52 week high of $103.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $92.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.09. The stock has a market cap of $45.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $503.22 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $424.23 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 11.96% and a net margin of 47.46%.Wheaton Precious Metals's quarterly revenue was up 68.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WPM. Berenberg Bank boosted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $87.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday. UBS Group set a $106.00 target price on Wheaton Precious Metals and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Friday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $97.33.

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.

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