Strategy Asset Managers LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,436 shares during the quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trium Capital LLP raised its position in Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its position in Waste Management by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $219.05 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $212.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.