Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Acquired by Wellington Management Group LLP

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 103.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 230,830 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 117,372 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $51,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.3% in the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. RHL Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Main Street Group LTD acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.2%

Waste Management stock opened at $221.66 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $88.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $228.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. Oppenheimer cut their target price on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.89.

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.