First Interstate Bank Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Interstate Bank grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $193,955,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted its position in Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after acquiring an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.86 on Friday, reaching $213.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,267,741 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,302,040. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.34 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.83.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.