CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. Invests $12.82 Million in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 58,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,824,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Waste Management by 444.3% during the 3rd 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. Capital International Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 218.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,494,000 after purchasing an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in Waste Management by 163.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Waste Management by 982.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $233.89 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $94.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.91, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $231.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued 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 yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.