ING Groep NV Buys 112,289 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• ING Groep NV increased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. by 81.6% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.06% of the company, valued at nearly $57.8 million.
• Waste Management reported earnings of $1.92 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates and showing a 19% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825, with a dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 48.96%.

ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 81.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 249,863 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 112,289 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned about 0.06% of Waste Management worth $57,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 126.9% in the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Eight 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, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $254.35.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.81 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $231.59. 1,069,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,629,190. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $231.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.96%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.