Franklin Resources Inc. Has $86.28 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 404,121 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 40,609 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Management worth $86,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

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

Waste Management Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WM traded down $1.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $211.68. 1,480,223 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,612,979. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $211.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.60, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $175.01 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

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 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 firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.72.

About Waste Management

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.