Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 158,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,396 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 2.2% of Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $236.82 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $248.00.

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.