Bank of Nova Scotia Decreases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 201,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,001 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $46,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WM. National Bankshares decreased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.14.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.6%

WM stock opened at $210.15 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $242.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.46. The company has a market capitalization of $84.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.09, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 51.97%.

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.