Marietta Wealth Management LLC Purchases 1,085 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Marietta Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,085 shares during the quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted 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 worth $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in Waste Management by 85.6% in the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after buying an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $211.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $84.66 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $208.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $153.95 and a 52-week high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

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.