National Pension Service Has $220.04 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Waste Management stake by 4.3% in the second quarter, owning 987,238 shares valued at approximately $220.04 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 80.4% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and six Holds giving the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $258.89.
• Waste Management exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.02 versus the $1.98 consensus, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equating to a 1.8% yield.

National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 987,238 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 40,975 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.25% of Waste Management worth $220,036,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26,113.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 121,870,338 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,162,461,000 after buying an additional 121,405,416 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position 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 valued at $3,820,921,000 after purchasing an additional 281,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $214.56 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $227.81 and its 200-day moving average is $226.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 53.54%.

Waste Management Company Profile

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.

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