Vontobel Holding Ltd. Acquires 1,800,728 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 444.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 1.5% of Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Vontobel Holding Ltd. owned about 0.55% of Waste Management worth $487,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McAdam LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $943,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. KWB Wealth increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.0% during the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3%

Waste Management stock opened at $220.31 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $211.36 and a 200 day moving average of $220.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $88.76 billion, a PE ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.95.

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.