6,578 Shares in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Bought by Sky Investment Group LLC

Sky Investment Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,578 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,366,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $969,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after acquiring an additional 243,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,217,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $473,047,000 after buying an additional 221,380 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded down $1.49 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $210.33. The stock had a trading volume of 114,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,351. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $153.95 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.41 billion, a PE ratio of 33.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

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.