Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 1,402,092 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,469,877 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,402,092 shares during the quarter. Wheaton Precious Metals comprises about 1.4% of Van ECK Associates Corp’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 3.19% of Wheaton Precious Metals worth $1,700,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 144.4% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in Wheaton Precious Metals by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Navalign LLC bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of WPM stock opened at $116.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.73. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 52 week low of $85.59 and a 52 week high of $165.76.

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

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued 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 payout ratio is currently 19.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WPM shares. Zacks Research cut shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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 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 research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $240.00 price objective for the company. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $155.64.

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.