Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $106.47 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. by 12.0%, acquiring an additional 49,293 shares in the 1st quarter, totaling 459,900 shares valued at approximately $106.5 million.
• Waste Management reported $1.67 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $6.02 billion, although slightly below analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.44%, and a payout ratio of 49.77%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 459,900 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,293 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.11% of Waste Management worth $106,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of Waste Management 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $234.70. The stock had a trading volume of 890,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,718,071. The stock has a market capitalization of $94.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $227.79. 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 2.65, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.31% and a net margin of 11.36%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $253.76.

Waste Management 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.