Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Rathbones Group PLC

Rathbones Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 463,274 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 52,156 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $101,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd 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. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after purchasing an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after purchasing an additional 774,255 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 247.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $198,799,000 after purchasing an additional 618,792 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE WM opened at $219.37 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total transaction of $150,628.21. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 9,607 shares in the company, valued at $2,345,356.91. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.