National Pension Service Buys 40,975 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 987,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,975 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $220,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bey Douglas LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Bey Douglas LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 10.2% during the first quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $111,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 6,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Coordinated Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Coordinated Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $305,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $214.56 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The stock has a market cap of $85.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.