Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA Purchases 15,100 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA increased its stake in Waste Management by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 15,100 additional shares and bringing its total to 41,070 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• Institutional ownership remains very high, with large holders like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, and Norges Bank also adding to or initiating positions; institutions now own 80.40% of WM.
• Wall Street remains constructive on WM, with 15 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings, a consensus “Moderate Buy,” and an average price target of $255.30. The company also recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.945 per share.

Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 58.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 41,070 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,100 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Switzerland SA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,820,921,000 after purchasing an additional 281,456 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,022,916,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.30.

Key Headlines Impacting Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Commentary today reiterated that WM’s irreplaceable physical network supports predictable, inflation-protected cash flow, reinforcing the stock’s appeal as a long-term “forever” holding. Why This Once-in-a-Decade Selloff Makes One Waste Management Company a Forever Stock
• Positive Sentiment: WM also reinforced its brand and operational discipline by updating its Recycle Right® guidance to warn customers not to place batteries in recycling or trash bins, a move that highlights safety focus and could help reduce facility fire risk. WM Updates Recycle Right® Rules: No Batteries in Recycling or Trash
• Neutral Sentiment: Several items referenced capital-markets activity around Waste Management entities, including debt issuance in Canada, which may support financing flexibility but does not appear to be a major stock-moving catalyst for WM’s core U.S. operations. Waste Management eyes selling $750 million in bonds
• Negative Sentiment: WM shares have recently softened amid a broader selloff in industrials and a market session where the stock fell while the wider market rose, suggesting some near-term profit-taking or valuation pressure. Waste Management (WM) Stock Sinks As Market Gains: What You Should Know

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $218.73 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $222.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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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