Employees Retirement System of Texas Acquires Shares of 13,870 Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Employees Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 13,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,800,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $20,790,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 40,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after buying an additional 8,331 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 163,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,196,000 after buying an additional 26,924 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 133,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,170,000 after buying an additional 39,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 45,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,761,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 9.6 %

Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $70.99 on Monday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52-week low of $49.41 and a 52-week high of $80.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $70.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.32.

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). Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The business had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $395.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.165 dividend. This is a boost from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WPM shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.50.

Wheaton Precious Metals Profile

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.