Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Purchased by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,432 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $213.61 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.64, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.