Waste Management, Inc. $WM is Parnassus Investments LLC’s 7th Largest Position

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,277,285 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 336,030 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 3.0% of Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,159,472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors raised its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Down 2.4%

NYSE:WM opened at $218.90 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $87.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.68, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $223.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $224.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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.