Munro Partners Acquires New Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Munro Partners acquired a new stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 25,735 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,654,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $216.88 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.10 billion, a PE ratio of 31.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $222.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $224.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.