Perpetual Ltd Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Perpetual Ltd grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 71,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,571 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $325,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 7,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 67.2% in the second quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 8,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,054,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Waste Management stock opened at $235.23 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $232.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.11, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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 business 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 quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.42%.

Waste Management Company 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.