Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,038,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 189,210 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $229,253,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 15,782.4% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $395,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,603 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,233,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,996 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% during 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $218.25 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $211.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.41. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $87.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target 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. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.95.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.