Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 968,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,835 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Waste Management worth $201,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WM. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.1% in the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.2% in the first quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $907,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aries Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Aries Wealth Management now owns 8,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,873,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $224.78 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.50. The stock has a market cap of $90.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.37, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $209.33.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Company 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.