Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 47.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 201,548 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 64,661 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd owned about 0.05% of Waste Management worth $40,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,146,111 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,686,203,000 after buying an additional 168,818 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $538,013,000 after purchasing an additional 2,588,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 12.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,433,408 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $505,175,000 after purchasing an additional 276,287 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.39.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $222.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $89.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.28. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $184.72 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.

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