Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Trium Capital LLP raised its holdings in Waste Management by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 77.4% during the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 417.3% in the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% during the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

WM opened at $224.41 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $168.73 and a twelve month high of $226.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $212.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.31, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research reports. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Argus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.