Amundi Purchases 284,733 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Amundi lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 284,733 shares during the quarter. Amundi owned approximately 0.89% of Waste Management worth $804,809,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 15,782.4% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,512,000 after buying an additional 1,717,603 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $333,089,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,996 shares during the period. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% during the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $663,037,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.14.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.0%

WM opened at $214.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The stock has a market cap of $86.23 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

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.