Groupe la Francaise Purchases 26,975 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Groupe la Francaise grew its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 305,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,975 shares during the quarter. Groupe la Francaise’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $34,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the first quarter valued at approximately $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 worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 1st quarter valued at $209,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 2nd quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 2,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $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 Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $154.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $131.44. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52 week low of $92.57 and a 52 week high of $165.76.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 21.97% and a net margin of 64.66%.The company had revenue of $878.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $879.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is 17.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank decreased their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Berenberg Bank set a $157.00 price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.55.

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.