BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Grows Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,319 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,696 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Management worth $85,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,624,000 after acquiring an additional 16,213 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $784,486,000. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,997,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $357,729,000 after purchasing an additional 38,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,931,135 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $345,851,000 after buying an additional 17,254 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $2.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $212.04. 1,780,493 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.