Generate Investment Management Ltd Acquires 64,546 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Generate Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 303.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 85,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 64,546 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. eCIO Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $53,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the third quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Waste Management from $234.00 to $223.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

WM stock opened at $222.13 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $220.25.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.