Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock: Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Boosts Holdings

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,309 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,008,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,013,831,000 after purchasing an additional 507,209 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $695,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,322 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,320,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $533,340,000 after buying an additional 26,847 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.2% in the second quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,207,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $492,002,000 after buying an additional 166,458 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.5%

Waste Management stock opened at $238.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.47 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $218.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.41.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.98 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.9450 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.