Summit Global Investments Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Summit Global Investments cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 91.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,575 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after acquiring an additional 281,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $237.17 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $95.24 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.44. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.99.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $256.74.

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.