First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 701.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 108,190 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 94,696 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $6,085,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fielder Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 24,701 shares of the company's stock worth $1,389,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,877 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,818 shares of the company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,761 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 4,027 shares of the company's stock worth $226,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:WPM traded up $0.57 on Tuesday, reaching $83.97. 291,868 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,829,194. The business has a fifty day moving average of $76.62 and a 200-day moving average of $67.26. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $51.96 and a 52-week high of $87.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.49.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.165 dividend. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio is 56.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on WPM shares. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $129.00 price target for the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. National Bankshares reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Canada raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.40.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. primarily sells precious metals in North America, Europe, and South America. It produces and sells gold, silver, palladium, and cobalt deposits. The company was formerly known as Silver Wheaton Corp. and changed its name to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. in May 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.