Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. $WPM Stock: Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 14.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 175,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,000 shares during the quarter. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $23,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WPM. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.5% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,411,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,619,480,000 after acquiring an additional 78,618 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $581,250,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $351,708,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $328,309,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,870,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,387,000 after acquiring an additional 92,435 shares in the last quarter. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on Wheaton Precious Metals from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Berenberg Bank set a $157.00 price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Wheaton Precious Metals from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Wheaton Precious Metals from $163.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.11.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Up 3.0%

WPM opened at $125.99 on Wednesday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a 1 year low of $92.57 and a 1 year high of $165.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $143.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $133.98.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $878.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $879.29 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 84.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 4.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 20th were given a dividend of $0.1950 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 20th. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company Profile

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is a precious metals streaming company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. Rather than operating mines directly, the company provides upfront financing to mining companies in exchange for the right to purchase a portion of the gold, silver, palladium and cobalt produced by specific mining operations at predetermined prices.

Wheaton sells the streamed metals to customers and uses the proceeds to support its operations and investments. Its portfolio is linked to mining assets operated by third parties, with exposure to projects in the Americas and other regions.