The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $376.39 Million Stock Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its Wheaton Precious Metals stake by 3.3% in the first quarter, holding 2.87 million shares valued at approximately $376.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 70.34% of WPM.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 12 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, although several firms lowered their price targets. The stock has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $161.09.
• Wheaton reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $1.28 per share and revenue of $901.47 million, up 91.7% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.195 per share, representing an annualized yield of about 0.7%.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,870,587 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 92,435 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.63% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $376,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter worth $864,977,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 40.9% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,912,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715,540 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,469,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,700,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,092 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1,655.4% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,245,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $139,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2,621.8% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 903,678 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,239,000 after purchasing an additional 870,476 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WPM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group cut their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $165.00 to $150.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $161.09.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $111.91 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $90.39 and a 52-week high of $165.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 28.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $117.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.63.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $901.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $868.35 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The firm's revenue was up 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

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