Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Free Report) by 34.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 277,751 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,125 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $17,153,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 19,984,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,047,621,000 after purchasing an additional 197,426 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 33.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,665,913 shares of the company's stock worth $895,723,000 after buying an additional 3,692,594 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,950,317 shares of the company's stock worth $311,920,000 after buying an additional 1,092,480 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 3,574,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,490,000 after buying an additional 108,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,456,230 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,207,000 after acquiring an additional 634,843 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Wheaton Precious Metals stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $57.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,255,755 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,471. The firm has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $62.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.85. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1 year low of $38.57 and a 1 year high of $68.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34. The firm had revenue of $308.25 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $324.57 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.44 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Wheaton Precious Metals's payout ratio is currently 46.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WPM shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James increased their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Securities raised their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a "buy" rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Canada lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.67.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

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.