Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 20.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 72,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,250 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after buying an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after buying an additional 117,476 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $222.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid 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 is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

About Waste Management

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.