Moerus Capital Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)

Moerus Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) by 10.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 714,115 shares of the company’s stock after selling 79,609 shares during the period. Wheaton Precious Metals accounts for 14.7% of Moerus Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Moerus Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Wheaton Precious Metals were worth $40,162,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WPM. Fielder Capital Group LLC grew its position in Wheaton Precious Metals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 24,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,389,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 11,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,553 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 70.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WPM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Canada raised Wheaton Precious Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Wheaton Precious Metals from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, 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 research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Wheaton Precious Metals currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Down 9.6 %

Shares of WPM opened at $70.99 on Friday. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. has a twelve month low of $49.41 and a twelve month high of $80.43. The stock has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 52.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $70.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.30.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $380.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $395.74 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.165 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 0.93%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.