Ninety One UK Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Ninety One UK Ltd boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 372,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 16,801 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $82,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $43,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Barclays cut their target price on Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $219.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $88.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $212.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.25. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 51.97%.

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.