Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) by 13.6% in Q1, now holding 81,100 shares valued at approximately $18.77 million.
• Waste Management reported a 19% increase in revenue year-over-year for Q2, achieving $6.43 billion and earnings per share (EPS) of $1.92, exceeding analyst expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.825, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 48.96%.

Forsta AP Fonden cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 81,100 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,076,447 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $822,588,000 after acquiring an additional 224,279 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Waste Management by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,996,773 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $806,509,000 after acquiring an additional 465,789 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,633,710 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $531,456,000 after acquiring an additional 177,398 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Waste Management by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,426,067 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $489,570,000 after acquiring an additional 170,046 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,181,924 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $505,137,000 after acquiring an additional 29,715 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

WM opened at $235.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market cap of $94.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.88, a PEG ratio of 2.86 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $230.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $228.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 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 of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 83,934 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Melius Research upgraded Waste Management to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $263.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $254.35.

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.

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