BNP Paribas Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

BNP Paribas lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 44,196 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,565 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Waste Management by 444.3% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,206,026 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $487,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800,728 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in Waste Management by 55.5% in the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 218.3% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after buying an additional 804,285 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WM stock opened at $238.61 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $229.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Citigroup decreased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $253.55.

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.