Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 672,874 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,045 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned about 0.15% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $32,406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 56.5% in the 1st quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,881 shares of the company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 2,123 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 112.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $305,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter worth about $591,000. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Kerntke Otto McGlone Wealth Management Group now owns 21,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 25.3% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 149,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,197,000 after buying an additional 30,183 shares during the period. 58.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of WPM stock opened at $43.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.60. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a one year low of $28.62 and a one year high of $52.76. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.25.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its earnings results on Friday, August 11th. The company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $264.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $250.73 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 6.61% and a net margin of 65.87%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s quarterly revenue was down 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.15 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 25th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WPM. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from C$72.50 to C$80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from C$50.00 to C$45.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 23rd. TD Securities upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from C$80.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Friday, July 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Wheaton Precious Metals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $392.71.

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 10, 2017. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.