ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Purchases Shares of 32,086 Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired 32,086 shares of Waste Management, Inc., valued at approximately $7.4 million, in the first quarter according to SEC filings.
• Waste Management recently reported a 12-month high of $242.58, along with earnings per share of $1.92 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates.
• A substantial 80.40% of Waste Management's stock is currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 32,086 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,428,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 70,488 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,224,000 after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,062,824 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $416,257,000 after purchasing an additional 146,782 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 131.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 283,341 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,188,000 after purchasing an additional 161,130 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of WM stock opened at $231.59 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $231.09 and a 200-day moving average of $228.54. 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 12-month low of $199.69 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $93.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. 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 report on Wednesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus 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.

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