Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 14,831 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 405,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,831 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $22,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter valued at $110,000. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter worth about $495,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $72,657,000. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Allianz Polska S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,211,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,120 shares of the company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WPM. Stifel Canada upgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.44.

Remove Ads

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

NYSE WPM traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $78.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,416,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,637,663. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12 month low of $49.41 and a 12 month high of $80.41. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.22. The company has a market cap of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is currently 56.90%.

Wheaton Precious Metals 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.