Dudley & Shanley Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Dudley & Shanley Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 668,605 shares of the company’s stock after selling 27,060 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals comprises approximately 12.6% of Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. Dudley & Shanley Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $78,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Triumph Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Pacifica Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 27.8% during the third quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Sunday, December 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $145.18.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 4.3%

NYSE WPM opened at $119.56 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $68.03 and a twelve month high of $165.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.29 billion, a PE ratio of 36.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $143.18 and its 200 day moving average is $120.74.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $864.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $719.59 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 17.17% and a net margin of 63.58%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 127.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a Canada-based precious metals streaming company that acquires and manages long-term purchase agreements for metals produced by mining companies. Rather than operating mines, Wheaton provides upfront and ongoing financing to miners in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the metals produced — typically silver and gold, and occasionally other precious metals — at predetermined prices. This streaming business model offers investors exposure to metal production with reduced operating and capital-cost risk compared with traditional mining companies.

The company’s activities center on structuring and maintaining a diversified portfolio of streaming agreements across multiple jurisdictions.