Covea Finance Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Covea Finance grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 247,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,244 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.8% of Covea Finance’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Covea Finance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $54,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $231.18 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $93.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total transaction of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 6,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,320,720.02. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

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.