Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Has $25.12 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 108,519 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 16,329 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,123,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,300,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $7,526,823,000 after buying an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after buying an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after purchasing an additional 224,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents 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 insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $236.10 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $95.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock's 50-day moving average is $232.15 and its 200-day moving average is $223.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Melius started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $248.00.

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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