King Luther Capital Management Corp Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management increased its Waste Management stake by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 34,197 shares to bring its total to 288,510 shares worth about $63.4 million.
• Several analysts remain constructive on WM, with recent price target hikes from firms including Robert W. Baird, Wells Fargo, and TD Cowen. The stock’s consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average target price of $255.67.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected EPS of $1.81 in its latest quarter, though revenue slightly missed estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, payable June 18, for an annualized yield of about 1.8%.

King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 288,510 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 34,197 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Management worth $63,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Waste Management by 68.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its stake in Waste Management by 5.1% in the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $215.42 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $223.92. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $86.51 billion, a PE ratio of 31.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Waste Management 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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