Banco Santander S.A. Has $26.84 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 1.8%, now holding 115,952 shares valued at approximately $26.84 million, according to its latest SEC filing.
• Major institutional investors are actively adjusting their positions in Waste Management, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by over 26,000%, now owning nearly 1.91 million shares valued at around $442 million.
• Waste Management reported an earnings per share of $1.92, exceeding analyst expectations, with a net revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, reflecting a 19% year-over-year increase.

Banco Santander S.A. cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,952 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,171 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $26,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $228.89. 1,389,422 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,408. The firm has a market cap of $92.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $231.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.38. 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 earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.96%.

Waste Management Company 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.