Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) Hits New 12-Month High - Here's What Happened

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $77.44 and last traded at $75.53, with a volume of 2006908 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.02.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $66.57 and a 200-day moving average of $63.17. The firm has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.76.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 EPS. Wheaton Precious Metals's revenue was up 21.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a positive change from Wheaton Precious Metals's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Wheaton Precious Metals's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Institutional Trading of Wheaton Precious Metals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $20,790,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 955,540 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,422,000 after buying an additional 36,970 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,287,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,196,000 after buying an additional 26,924 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 42.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 133,627 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,170,000 after buying an additional 39,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company's stock.

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.