Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Buys 78 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,077,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $859,624,000 after purchasing an additional 16,213 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after acquiring an additional 221,380 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 85.6% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after acquiring an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its position in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,521,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $272,491,000 after acquiring an additional 5,103 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $203.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $81.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.25, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.