Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Fermata Advisors LLC

Fermata Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,559 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Fermata Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its stake in Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price 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. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:WM opened at $211.81 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $153.95 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $208.48.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.