Meeder Asset Management Inc. Increases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 321.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 88,792 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 67,732 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.2% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,433,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $969,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,664 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Waste Management by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Waste Management by 11.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $473,047,000 after buying an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $218.31 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $211.80 and a 200 day moving average of $209.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $226.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 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, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management 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.