QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $3.93 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 37.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,784 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,723 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,927,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,662,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,617,866,000 after acquiring an additional 292,868 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after purchasing an additional 74,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Finally, Amundi raised its stake in Waste Management by 8.6% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after buying an additional 284,733 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $221.21 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.16. The firm has a market cap of $89.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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 research report on Monday, December 1st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price on the stock. CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.45.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were 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 directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.