Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM Shares Purchased by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 40.5%, owning 96,214 shares worth about $11.31 million after adding 27,729 shares in Q4.
• Wheaton beat expectations for the quarter with $1.22 EPS vs. $0.91 expected and revenue of $864.7 million (up 127.3% year-over-year), reporting a 63.6% net margin and 17.2% ROE.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.195 (ex-dividend Mar 31, pay Apr 10), and analysts maintain a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating with an average target of $145.36.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 40.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 96,214 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 27,729 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $11,308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WPM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,789,090 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,102,611,000 after purchasing an additional 234,439 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 7,252,054 shares of the company's stock worth $811,726,000 after purchasing an additional 244,027 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $777,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,847,977 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 6,455,675 shares of the company's stock valued at $722,270,000 after buying an additional 1,335,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,481,459 shares of the company's stock valued at $402,435,000 after buying an additional 507,577 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Down 0.8%

WPM stock opened at $123.67 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $56.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.50. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12 month low of $68.03 and a 12 month high of $165.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.32.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $864.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $719.59 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 63.58% and a return on equity of 17.17%. The business's revenue was up 127.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $160.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday. 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 research report on Monday, March 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $145.36.

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.

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.