Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has invested approximately $11.66 million in Waste Management, acquiring over 50,000 shares in the company during the first quarter.
• Investment analysts have updated their ratings on Waste Management, with 13 analysts giving a buy rating and an increased consensus price target of $252.41.
• Waste Management recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.92, exceeding expectations, and announced a dividend of $0.825 per share, yielding 1.45% annually.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 50,369 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $11,661,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $228.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 879,118 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,721,282. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $92.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $231.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $227.97.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.96%.

About Waste Management

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.