Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 621,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,014 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $34,936,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WPM. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $129.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stifel Canada upgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $83.40.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WPM opened at $80.84 on Monday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12-month low of $51.96 and a 12-month high of $87.42. The stock has a market cap of $36.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.33, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average of $76.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.14.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.45 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.165 per share. This represents a $0.66 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This is a boost from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.90%.

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.