Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM Shares Acquired by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. sharply increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the first quarter, boosting holdings by 11,599.1% to 25,738 shares worth about $3.37 million.
• Institutional interest in WPM remains strong, with several other funds adding shares and 70.34% of the stock now owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Wheaton Precious Metals reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.28 per share and revenue of $901.47 million, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.195 per share.

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 11,599.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,738 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 25,518 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $3,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Angeles Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. C WorldWide Group Holding A S raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 75.9% in the 1st quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 37,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,881,000 after acquiring an additional 16,072 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 327,150 shares of the company's stock valued at $44,660,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the period. Independent Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 1st quarter worth approximately $687,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 198.5% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 23,787 shares of the company's stock worth $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 15,818 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WPM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective 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. Bank of America lowered their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $182.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets assumed 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 target on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $161.09.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of WPM opened at $111.46 on Thursday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $90.39 and a twelve month high of $165.76. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $118.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.70%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.