Capital Research Global Investors Purchases 240,546 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Capital Research Global Investors increased its Waste Management stake by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 240,546 shares to bring its total holdings to 2.27 million shares worth about $497.7 million.
• Waste Management’s latest quarterly earnings beat analyst expectations, reporting $1.81 EPS versus $1.75 expected, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, payable June 18, implying an annualized yield of about 1.7% at the time of the report.

Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,265,370 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 240,546 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 0.56% of Waste Management worth $497,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Advisors Inc. OK grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 333.1% during the fourth quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,442 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 6,493 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.6% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,881,975 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $415,597,000 after purchasing an additional 195,092 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 793,346 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $173,774,000 after purchasing an additional 104,843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goodman Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $16,898,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WM. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. TD Cowen lifted 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. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

WM opened at $220.45 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $223.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $224.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45. 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 (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

About Waste Management

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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