Barings LLC Sells 67,813 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Barings LLC reduced its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 15.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 378,880 shares of the company’s stock after selling 67,813 shares during the quarter. Wheaton Precious Metals comprises about 0.8% of Barings LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Barings LLC owned about 0.08% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $44,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WPM. Andra AP fonden lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 77,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,155,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 101.0% in the fourth quarter. DJE Kapital AG now owns 155,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,142,000 after purchasing an additional 78,200 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 534,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,898,000 after purchasing an additional 27,367 shares during the last quarter. Oath Planning LLC acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $258,000. Finally, Burkett Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WPM has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities upped their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Thursday, April 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, March 27th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NYSE WPM opened at $112.58 on Friday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 12-month low of $85.59 and a 12-month high of $165.76. The stock has a market cap of $51.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $133.22 and a 200 day moving average of $131.84.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $901.47 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $868.35 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 20.20% and a net margin of 65.55%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 91.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 19.70%.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

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.