Westerkirk Capital Inc. Sells 14,500 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Westerkirk Capital Inc. lessened its position in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 65.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,650 shares of the company’s stock after selling 14,500 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter valued at about $331,000. Focus Partners Wealth boosted its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 11,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $239,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 28.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.34% of the company’s stock.

Wheaton Precious Metals Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WPM opened at $114.88 on Tuesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1 year low of $85.59 and a 1 year high of $165.76. The stock has a market cap of $52.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $134.16 and a 200 day moving average of $131.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.24 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 65.55% and a return on equity of 20.20%. The company had revenue of $901.47 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $868.35 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Wheaton Precious Metals’s revenue was up 91.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WPM shares. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $178.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $164.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $155.64.

Wheaton Precious Metals 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.