Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Reduces Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 515,778 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,013 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $113,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,727,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This trade represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,842 shares of company stock valued at $13,140,382 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $216.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $86.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $230.19 and a 200 day moving average of $222.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

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.