Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 942,751 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 38.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,508,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 942,751 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $346,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Bey Douglas LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bey Douglas LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Robert W. Baird increased 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. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $226.12 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $220.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $224.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a market cap of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.