OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Takes $290,000 Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd has acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc., purchasing 1,251 shares valued at approximately $290,000.
• Waste Management's recent quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting a revenue of $6.43 billion and an EPS of $1.92, up from $1.82 in the same quarter last year.
• The company's stock price opened at $228.89, with a market cap of $92.20 billion, and notable analyst upgrades suggesting a strong outlook with price targets reaching as high as $277.00.

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,251 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $290,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waste Management by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $806,509,000 after acquiring an additional 465,789 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,456,000 after buying an additional 177,398 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,570,000 after acquiring an additional 170,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,104,650 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $424,697,000 after buying an additional 16,739 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WM traded up $1.81 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.59. 1,069,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,629,190. The business has a 50 day moving average of $231.20 and a 200 day moving average of $228.52. The company has a market capitalization of $93.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $199.69 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.