Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) is Van ECK Associates Corp's 6th Largest Position

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,521,065 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,856,031 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals accounts for about 1.8% of Van ECK Associates Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 4.53% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $1,012,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 230.7% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 863 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 200.0% in the third quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 900 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 2,400.0% during the fourth quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,250 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WPM. Scotiabank cut their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $59.32.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $53.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,079,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,932. The company has a 50 day moving average of $46.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.50. The firm has a market cap of $24.28 billion, a PE ratio of 45.01, a PEG ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 0.77. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $38.37 and a twelve month high of $54.45.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $313.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $284.29 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 52.92%. Equities research analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is 52.10%.

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.

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