Mufg Securities Canada LTD. Purchases 290,192 Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Mufg Securities Canada LTD. lifted its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 72.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 692,766 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 290,192 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals makes up about 1.4% of Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Mufg Securities Canada LTD.’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $38,968,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. bought a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 70.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on WPM shares. 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. Scotiabank upped their price objective 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.44.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals stock opened at $75.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.33 and a 200 day moving average of $63.45. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a fifty-two week low of $44.57 and a fifty-two week high of $77.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.69, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $395.74 million. Wheaton Precious Metals had a return on equity of 8.85% and a net margin of 50.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.36 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.165 dividend. This is an increase from Wheaton Precious Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.66 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Wheaton Precious Metals’s payout ratio is presently 56.90%.

Wheaton Precious Metals Company 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.