Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,849,837 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,632 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.46% of Waste Management worth $320,756,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 4.7% during the second quarter. Steel Peak Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. American National Bank increased its stake in Waste Management by 1,459.9% during the second quarter. American National Bank now owns 2,137 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $371,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank increased its stake in Waste Management by 12.5% during the first quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 2,695 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% during the second quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 55,488 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,623,000 after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sawgrass Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $179.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Citigroup cut their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.77.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $171.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.17. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.31 and a fifty-two week high of $173.71.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 24th. The business services provider reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.02. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.14% and a net margin of 11.47%. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 1st will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $925,876.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,938 shares in the company, valued at $29,573,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 4,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $716,724.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 177,321 shares in the company, valued at $30,499,212. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 5,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.00, for a total value of $925,876.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,573,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.