Ecofi Investissements SA Has $8.64 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Ecofi Investissements SA reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 37,750 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,050 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 8.7% of Ecofi Investissements SA’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Ecofi Investissements SA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $325,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $45,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 112.2% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $102,878,000 after buying an additional 234,976 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 9.7% during the first quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 5,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $213.61 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $212.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.70. The firm has a market cap of $86.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. CIBC cut their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $262.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.14.

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.