Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM Stake Cut by Hendley & Co. Inc.

Key Points

• Hendley & Co. Inc. trimmed its Wheaton Precious Metals stake by 11.7% in the first quarter, selling 12,410 shares and ending with 93,941 shares valued at about $12.3 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other investors holding about 70.34% of the stock; several large firms recently increased their positions, including Norges Bank and Van ECK Associates.
• Wheaton Precious Metals beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.28 EPS and $901.47 million in revenue, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $155.64 price target.

Hendley & Co. Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,941 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,410 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals accounts for approximately 4.6% of Hendley & Co. Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Hendley & Co. Inc.'s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $12,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $864,977,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 36.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,847,977 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 40.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,912,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,951,000 after purchasing an additional 1,715,540 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,469,877 shares of the company's stock worth $1,700,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted 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 worth $722,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335,588 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Zacks Research downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Wheaton Precious Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 16th. Thirteen 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 company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $155.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE WPM opened at $121.72 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12 month low of $85.59 and a 12 month high of $165.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.66. The stock has a market cap of $55.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.51.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $901.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $868.35 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. Analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio is presently 19.70%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WPM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report).

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.