BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 572,326 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,841 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $118,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the second quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $228.52. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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. The business 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Argus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.