Danske Bank A S Purchases New Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 326,063 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $72,004,000. Danske Bank A S owned 0.08% of Waste Management at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 43.4% during the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,825 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.4% during the second quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,995,000 after purchasing an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordwand Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $8,872,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 30,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.36, for a total transaction of $7,000,640.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 225,793 shares in the company, valued at $52,013,675.48. This trade represents a 11.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DZ Bank started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $236.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $230.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

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.