UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 6,558 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 193.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,558 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% during the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $262,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM traded down $1.42 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $217.31. 1,358,352 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,688,759. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $209.86 and a 200-day moving average of $204.48. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $87.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.79, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.