LS Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

LS Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 27,504 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. LS Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,710,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter worth $193,955,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after acquiring an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $220.44 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.06. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

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.