Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $44.21 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $44,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $222.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $89.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.26 and its 200-day moving average is $223.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.