MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,583,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 57,093 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. GPM Growth Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 50.6% during the 2nd quarter. GPM Growth Investors Inc. now owns 16,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,808,000 after purchasing an additional 5,588 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 268,033 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $61,331,000 after buying an additional 103,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,156,000 after buying an additional 7,143 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective on the stock. National Bankshares lowered their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. UBS Group raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.77.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $220.96 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $213.84 and its 200 day moving average is $219.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

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.