Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stake Lessened by ABN Amro Investment Solutions

Key Points

• ABN Amro Investment Solutions cut its Waste Management stake by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, though WM remains one of its largest holdings at about 1.3% of the portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains high, with investors like Vanguard, Ameriprise, and Nordea increasing positions; overall, institutions own about 80.4% of Waste Management shares.
• Waste Management beat quarterly EPS expectations with $1.81 per share versus $1.75 expected, and analysts remain broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

ABN Amro Investment Solutions decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 399,323 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 21,888 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.3% of ABN Amro Investment Solutions' portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. ABN Amro Investment Solutions owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Management worth $87,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after acquiring an additional 277,250 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $873,276,000 after acquiring an additional 11,688 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 617 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.13, for a total value of $150,628.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 9,607 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,345,356.91. The trade was a 6.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $219.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $88.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $227.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 54.70%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

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