6,642 Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Banque Pictet & Cie SA

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its Waste Management stake by 0.5%, selling 6,642 shares and retaining 1.28 million shares worth approximately $261.8 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.4% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $256.06 price target, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• Waste Management reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, representing a 1.7% yield.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,283,998 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,642 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.8% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.32% of Waste Management worth $261,833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 10.3% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 3,692 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $753,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 31,368 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. Godsey & Gibb Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $19,664,000. Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 77,308 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,765,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vertrix Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vertrix Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,974 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,481,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares in 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 analysts recently weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.06.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:WM opened at $227.02 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $216.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.29. The firm has a market cap of $90.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM NYSE: WM, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. Its customers include residential households, commercial businesses, industrial organizations and municipalities.

The company operates a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and waste-to-energy assets across the United States and Canada. Its services include curbside collection, dumpster and roll-off services, recycling, landfill disposal, organics management and specialized waste solutions.

Founded in 1968, WM has expanded from a traditional waste collection business into a broader provider of environmental and sustainability services.

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