Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Norris Perne & French LLP MI

Key Points

• Norris Perne & French LLP MI doubled its Waste Management stake in the third quarter, adding 77,923 shares to own 155,661 shares valued at approximately $31.7 million.
• Waste Management reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, beating estimates of $1.98, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equal to a 1.6% annual yield.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $256.06; institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.4% of the stock.

Norris Perne & French LLP MI raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 100.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 155,661 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 77,923 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.4% of Norris Perne & French LLP MI's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Norris Perne & French LLP MI's holdings in Waste Management were worth $31,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Main Street Group LTD purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Markowski Investments purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 93.5% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 180 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $239.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $216.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.33. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $95.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. Waste Management's quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.09 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.9450 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WM. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lowered their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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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