Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 4.2%, acquiring an additional 24,006 shares to own a total of 591,108 shares valued at approximately $136.8 million.
• Waste Management recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.92 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations with revenue reaching $6.43 billion, a 19% increase year-over-year.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Waste Management, with price targets ranging from $250 to $277 based on recent upgrades from multiple investment firms.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 591,108 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 24,006 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned 0.15% of Waste Management worth $136,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,210,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,654,173,000 after purchasing an additional 64,260 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $822,588,000 after buying an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $806,509,000 after acquiring an additional 465,789 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Waste Management by 7.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $489,570,000 after purchasing an additional 170,046 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WM traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $228.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,389,422 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $231.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a market capitalization of $92.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management's revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, HSBC raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.35.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.