Pacer Advisors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 33.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,167 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 11,626 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 20.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,220 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the first quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 82,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $19,025,000 after acquiring an additional 19,324 shares during the period. E Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. E Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,193 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the first quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 466,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $107,289,000 after buying an additional 3,625 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.70 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $226.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.81. The company has a market cap of $89.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.83, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th were issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $258.89.

Waste Management Company 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.