KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Has $44.46 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 192,053 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Waste Management were worth $44,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its position in Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $295,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 252,800 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,013,000 after acquiring an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $782,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $252.41.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $2.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $230.58. 1,488,066 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,714,237. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month 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. The firm has a market cap of $92.79 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.64.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.77%.

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.