Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Boosted by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 246,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,684 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up 1.4% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned 0.06% of Waste Management worth $51,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Trium Capital LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

WM traded up $1.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $228.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,366,004 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,106. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $210.45. The stock has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.