Covea Finance Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Covea Finance raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 247,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,244 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 1.8% of Covea Finance’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Covea Finance owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Management worth $54,400,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $325,000. FineMark National Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.2% in the 2nd quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust now owns 1,732 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 3,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $807,000 after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 151.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,060 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% 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 three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.1%

WM opened at $231.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management 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.