Impax Asset Management Group plc Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,741,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 122,696 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.4% of Impax Asset Management Group plc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $361,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. grew its stake in Waste Management by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 143,739 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,840,000 after purchasing an additional 17,691 shares during the last quarter. World Equity Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% during the third quarter. World Equity Group Inc. now owns 1,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. TKG Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.8% in the third quarter. TKG Advisors LLC now owns 10,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,179,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Waste Management by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 767,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $159,349,000 after buying an additional 105,466 shares during the period. Finally, Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven 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, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.05.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.75 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $213.24. The stock had a trading volume of 302,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,866. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $167.78 and a 1 year high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $85.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

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.