ProShare Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,596 shares and bringing its total holdings to 68,094 shares worth about $14.96 million.
• Several analysts remain bullish on WM, with recent target-price increases from TD Cowen, JPMorgan, Oppenheimer and Barclays. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $255.67.
• Waste Management reported Q1 earnings of $1.81 per share, topping expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share to be paid June 18, implying an annualized yield of about 1.7%.

ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,094 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,596 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 163.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $150,466,000 after acquiring an additional 660,776 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 247.5% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $198,799,000 after acquiring an additional 618,792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $219.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company's 50-day moving average price is $227.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $223.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $88.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors 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 yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 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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