Waste Management, Inc. $WM Holdings Boosted by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management increased its Waste Management stake by 3.1% in the third quarter, ending the period with 596,764 shares worth about $121.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.4% of the company.
• Waste Management reported quarterly revenue of $6.85 billion, above analyst expectations and up 6.3% year over year, while earnings per share of $2.15 fell short of the $2.18 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of $257.04. The company’s annualized dividend is $3.78 per share, a yield of about 1.6%.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596,764 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 17,982 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.15% of Waste Management worth $121,692,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,344,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 0.9% during the third quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Waste Management by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.0% in the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $291,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1%

WM opened at $236.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $94.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $219.40 and its 200 day moving average is $225.59. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $197.47 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The business had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.98 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a $0.9450 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 49.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial set a $251.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.04.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM NYSE: WM, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.

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