Banque Pictet & Cie SA Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,893,190 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,000 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 3.5% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.47% of Waste Management worth $438,292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 538,567 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 22.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,009,726,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $226.19. 1,860,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,629,363. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.64. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $232.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $225.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $251.29.

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.