Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,523 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,343 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $36,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $988,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.7% in the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 6,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,323,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,657 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,847,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $238,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.7% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 28,377 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,054,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $216.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.09. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $171.15 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The firm has a market cap of $89.93 billion, a PE ratio of 34.26, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.