Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Raised by Tredje AP fonden

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 214.6% in Q1, owning approximately 0.06% of the company valued at $56.97 million.
• The company recently reported $6.43 billion in revenue for the quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion, and a net margin of 11.36%.
• Analysts maintain a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating for Waste Management, with a target share price averaging $252.41.

Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 214.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 246,063 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 167,851 shares during the quarter. Tredje AP fonden owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $56,966,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,866 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,520,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 11,655 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Formidable Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the first quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Stock Down 0.1%

Waste Management stock traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $228.89. 1,389,422 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,601,932. The company has a market cap of $92.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The company's fifty day moving average price is $231.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $227.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.