Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $44.21 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 201,217 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $44,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $244,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 68,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,961,000 after purchasing an additional 5,596 shares during the period. Auxano Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Auxano Advisors LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $710,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 57,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,607,000 after purchasing an additional 10,205 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,999 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,295,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE WM opened at $222.10 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $228.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned 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 $255.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. This represents a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.