Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG Increases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 109,803 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,257 shares during the quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $53,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, November 14th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Baird R W raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.95.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $219.76 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.61, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50 day moving average is $212.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.25. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 dated 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 directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

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.