Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Purchased by Payden & Rygel

Payden & Rygel raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 41.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Payden & Rygel’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in 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 during the period. 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its position in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 85.6% in 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 in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $218.78 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $212.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.92. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $168.73 and a 1 year high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $87.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.