Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM Shares Sold by Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Montrusco Bolton Investments reduced its Wheaton Precious Metals stake by 18.5% in the third quarter, selling 27,978 shares and retaining 123,425 shares valued at approximately $16.5 million.
• Institutional ownership remains significant at 70.34%, with major investors including BlackRock, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Bank of America, Legal & General, and Manufacturers Life Insurance taking new positions.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 10 Buy ratings and one Hold rating, a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, and an average price target of $172.11 versus the reported share price of $136.09.

Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 18.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,425 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,978 shares during the quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc.'s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $16,522,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at $581,250,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter worth $351,708,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter worth $328,309,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $320,838,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $310,738,000. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $182.00 to $177.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $172.11.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM traded down $2.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $136.09. 932,770 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,204,305. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $92.57 and a 52-week high of $165.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.83 and a 200-day moving average of $131.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $878.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $879.29 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 64.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were paid a $0.1950 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.29%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a precious metals streaming company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Rather than operating mines directly, the company provides mining companies with upfront financing in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the gold, silver, palladium, cobalt and other metals produced by designated mining operations at predetermined prices.

Wheaton's streaming portfolio is supported by agreements with mining operations in the Americas and other regions, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Brazil and Chile.

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