Exeter Financial LLC Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Exeter Financial LLC boosted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 1.7% of Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Trium Capital LLP boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted 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 buying an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $207.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $180.17 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $83.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $214.62 and a 200-day moving average of $211.29.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.