Westchester Capital Management Inc. Has $19.87 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Westchester Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 90,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 4.1% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $19,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,022,916,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Waste Management by 218.3% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,369,805 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $302,494,000 after buying an additional 939,455 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 163.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 1,400,701 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $309,317,000 after buying an additional 869,453 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 2.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,436,462 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,487,924,000 after buying an additional 774,255 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3,209.2% during the third quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 681,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $150,466,000 after buying an additional 660,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE:WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $222.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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.