Prudential PLC Has $9.47 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Prudential PLC increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 44,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,611 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,469,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PFG Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 7,084 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 12,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,665,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 59.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 10,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,208,000 after purchasing an additional 3,850 shares during the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 9,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 456.0% during the 2nd quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $208.48 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.