BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 217,359 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 54.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 617,678 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 217,359 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.15% of Waste Management worth $128,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,523,324 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $969,401,000 after purchasing an additional 12,664 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $900,957,000 after buying an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Waste Management by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $218.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $209.92. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.84. The stock has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.11.

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.

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