Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Lowers Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 70.8% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 17,870 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 43,316 shares during the quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,946,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Waste Management by 982.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. The trade was a 7.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $238.61 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 56.42%.

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.