Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 306 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 2.3% of Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $28,361,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its stake in Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 70,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,224,000 after acquiring an additional 7,453 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,062,824 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $416,257,000 after acquiring an additional 146,782 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Waste Management by 131.8% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 283,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,188,000 after purchasing an additional 161,130 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $231.59 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $199.69 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a market cap of $93.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.36, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.64. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $228.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. HSBC raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management 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 transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.