Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stake Lifted by World Investment Advisors

Key Points

• World Investment Advisors increased its stake in Waste Management by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,284 shares and bringing its total holdings to 18,716 shares worth about $4.1 million.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions, and 80.40% of Waste Management stock is now owned by institutions. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares in recent months, including VP Donald J. Smith and COO John J. Morris.
• Waste Management reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.81 on April 28, though revenue of $6.23 billion slightly missed estimates. Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus Moderate Buy rating and an average price target of $255.67.

World Investment Advisors increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,716 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,284 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors' holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,112,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3,209.2% in the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $150,466,000 after purchasing an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 247.5% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 868,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $198,799,000 after purchasing an additional 618,792 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,490 shares of company stock valued at $11,416,338. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Barclays increased their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $218.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market cap of $87.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.94. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

About Waste Management

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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