Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock: Robeco Schweiz AG Reduces Stake

Robeco Schweiz AG trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 170,568 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 49,837 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $34,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Common Asset Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 12.9% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 55,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,458,000 after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,776,000 after purchasing an additional 14,003 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 409,741 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,155,000 after purchasing an additional 57,028 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 56.1% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 46,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,341,000 after purchasing an additional 16,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 188.2% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,888 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,613,000 after purchasing an additional 35,841 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $239.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $216.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a $0.9450 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $235.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.06.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.