Madison Asset Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,962,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its position in Waste Management by 5.1% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $225.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $227.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $90.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.89.

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.