Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Wheaton Precious Metals Call Options (NYSE:WPM)

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors bought 6,649 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 100% compared to the average daily volume of 3,320 call options.

Wheaton Precious Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WPM traded up $0.95 on Tuesday, hitting $64.51. The stock had a trading volume of 586,678 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,369,355. Wheaton Precious Metals has a twelve month low of $38.57 and a twelve month high of $68.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.65. The company has a market capitalization of $29.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.77.

Wheaton Precious Metals (NYSE:WPM) last issued its earnings results on Friday, November 8th. The company reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.34. Wheaton Precious Metals had a net margin of 50.05% and a return on equity of 8.85%. The company had revenue of $308.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.57 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Wheaton Precious Metals will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

Wheaton Precious Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Wheaton Precious Metals’s dividend payout ratio is 46.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WPM shares. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in a research report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “buy” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. National Bank Financial raised shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Stifel Canada lowered shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Securities raised their price objective on shares of Wheaton Precious Metals from $74.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.67.

Institutional Trading of Wheaton Precious Metals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in Wheaton Precious Metals during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $41,000. St. Johns Investment Management Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Wheaton Precious Metals in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 70.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Wheaton Precious Metals

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.