BNP Paribas Sells 326 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BNP Paribas cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,498 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 326 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth $202,000. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the first quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $867,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 188.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 172,370 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,741,000 after purchasing an additional 112,642 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 89.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 47,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,032,000 after buying an additional 22,244 shares during the period. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $113,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $228.50 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $230.39. 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 company has a market cap of $91.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $214.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.45.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $228.94.

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.