Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,431 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 537.0% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 19.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,527 shares of company stock worth $21,940,327. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on WM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $246.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $228.43 and its 200-day moving average is $219.99. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.25%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.