Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 4.6% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,809,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $224.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $89.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $210.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $209.26. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $226.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.