Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Diamant Asset Management Inc.

Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 23,051.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 770,945 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 767,615 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after buying an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE WM opened at $226.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $220.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 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.