Brown Advisory Inc. Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 54,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Amundi increased its holdings in Waste Management by 8.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $804,809,000 after buying an additional 284,733 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 60.7% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 657,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $150,466,000 after acquiring an additional 248,383 shares during the period. Advanced Portfolio Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,716,000. Great Diamond Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% during the second quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC now owns 18,279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,183,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 98.3% during the second quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 4,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $981,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $213.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.62.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for 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%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors 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 yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $249.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.