Segment Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $969,401,000 after acquiring an additional 12,664 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Waste Management by 44.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $820,539,000 after purchasing an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 purchasing an additional 221,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $211.09 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.95 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $84.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.52.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. CIBC cut their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $218.89.

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.