Waverly Advisors LLC Has $29.43 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Waverly Advisors increased its Waste Management stake by 6.7% in the second quarter, bringing its holdings to 132,053 shares valued at approximately $29.43 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 80.40% of WM.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and seven Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $258.89.
• Waste Management reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, beating estimates, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, representing a 1.7% annualized yield.

Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,053 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,347 shares during the quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $29,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Waste Management by 26,113.1% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 121,870,338 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,162,461,000 after purchasing an additional 121,405,416 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,820,921,000 after buying an additional 281,456 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,972,371,000 after acquiring an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $217.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,183,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,166,260. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $226.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.04 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company 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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