D.A. Davidson & CO. Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,955 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% during the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 248.5% during the 2nd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $210,092,000 after buying an additional 702,188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $228.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $213.68 and a 200-day moving average of $210.32. The company has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a PE ratio of 34.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on WM shares. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Argus increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

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.