Pacer Advisors Inc. Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 46,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. lifted 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 worth $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 248.5% during the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 984,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $210,092,000 after acquiring an additional 702,188 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Argus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $224.41 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $226.84. The firm has a market cap of $90.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $210.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

About Waste Management

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.