Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM is First Eagle Investment Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• First Eagle Investment Management reduced its Wheaton Precious Metals stake by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, but the position still ranks as its 4th largest holding. The fund owned 15.39 million shares worth about $1.81 billion at the end of the period.
• Wheaton Precious Metals recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.28 versus $1.24 expected and revenue of $901.47 million, up 91.7% year over year. Analysts currently expect the company to post 4.88 EPS for the full year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.195 per share, payable June 9, implying an annualized payout of $0.78 and a 0.5% yield. Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $155.45.

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,390,108 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,768,855 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals comprises approximately 3.2% of First Eagle Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned approximately 3.39% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $1,808,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 36.2% during the 3rd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,955,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,938,000 after buying an additional 1,847,977 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 53.0% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,197,048 shares of the company's stock worth $469,459,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,572 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 26.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,455,675 shares of the company's stock worth $722,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,588 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its position in 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 worth $139,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,174,799 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 158.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,458,898 shares of the company's stock worth $163,224,000 after purchasing an additional 893,733 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of WPM stock opened at $143.98 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1 year low of $75.42 and a 1 year high of $165.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $138.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.45. The company has a market cap of $65.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.36, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.50.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The firm had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 91.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is presently 19.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Scotiabank raised their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. UBS Group raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.45.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company 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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