Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Lowers Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 7.8% in Q4, selling 16,100 shares and finishing the quarter with 191,258 shares worth about $22.5 million.
• Wheaton posted a strong quarter—EPS $1.22 versus a $0.91 consensus and revenue up 127.3% YoY to $864.7M—and analysts collectively rate the stock a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target of $155.45.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.195 (annualized $0.78, yield 0.6%) and currently trades with a market cap of about $57.0 billion and a PE ratio near 38.8.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,258 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,100 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $22,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Triumph Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, TD Securities raised their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.45.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 0.2%

Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $125.61 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $57.04 billion, a PE ratio of 38.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.50. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $75.42 and a 52-week high of $165.76. The company's 50 day moving average is $140.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.31. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 63.58% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business had revenue of $864.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $719.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 127.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.07%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Profile

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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