L & S Advisors Inc Has $2.91 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

L & S Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 14,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Trium Capital LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after acquiring an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $219.60 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $226.84. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $212.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $88.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Profile

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.