Night Squared LP Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Night Squared LP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 37,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,359,000. Waste Management makes up 3.0% of Night Squared LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,487,924,000 after acquiring an additional 774,255 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% during 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 position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,596,281 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $804,809,000 after purchasing an additional 284,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings 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 worth $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,130. This trade represents a 32.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. DZ Bank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $238.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The business has a 50 day moving average of $229.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.39. The company has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.25%.

Waste Management Company 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.