Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Lowers Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 38.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,508,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 942,751 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.37% of Waste Management worth $346,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RHL Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $226.12 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $220.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen increased their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

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.