Waste Management, Inc. $WM is Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s 10th Largest Position

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,674,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 27,651 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 2.3% of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. owned approximately 0.42% of Waste Management worth $369,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,167,000. Glenmede Investment Management LP boosted its position in Waste Management by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Investment Management LP now owns 35,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,729,000 after buying an additional 2,356 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 331,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $73,202,000 after acquiring an additional 29,594 shares in the last quarter. Intrepid Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $722,000. Finally, Eisler Capital Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $310,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total transaction of $1,724,044.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $238.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $229.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.39. The stock has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

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.