Aventail Capital Group LP Makes New $1.57 Million Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Aventail Capital Group LP acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,565,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $487,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800,728 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% during the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,258 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

WM stock opened at $238.61 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $229.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.