Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Bought by Clarkston Capital Partners LLC

Clarkston Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,442 shares during the quarter. Clarkston Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after acquiring an additional 117,476 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after buying an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a PE ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

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.