Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,788 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 0.7% of Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $14,310,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 3,412 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bfsg LLC now owns 16,399 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,344,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Magnus Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 5,267 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 1,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3%

WM opened at $237.28 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $94.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.38. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $200.57 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $220.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $225.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.9450 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $232.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Waste Management from $248.00 to $245.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.04.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.00, for a total value of $121,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,108,546. This represents a 5.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc., doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure. WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.