BLB&B Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BLB&B Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 49,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 194 shares during the quarter. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,664 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its position in Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after buying an additional 221,380 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $211.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.95 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

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.