Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 109,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,257 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 15,782.4% during the second 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. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% in the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after buying an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after buying an additional 804,285 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. 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 report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.95.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $219.76 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 50 day moving average of $212.21 and a 200 day moving average of $220.25. 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 company has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm 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%.Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

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

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.