BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S reduced its Waste Management stake by 28.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,059 shares and ending with 25,861 shares worth about $5.68 million.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in at $6.23 billion and rose 3.5% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, and Wall Street currently has a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target price of $255.67.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 28.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,861 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,059 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,682,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,494,000 after acquiring an additional 939,455 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,317,000 after acquiring an additional 869,453 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $150,466,000 after acquiring an additional 660,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of WM opened at $220.45 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average is $223.62 and its 200 day moving average is $224.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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