Parnassus Investments LLC Raises Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 11.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 520,096 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 2.3% of Parnassus Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Parnassus Investments LLC owned about 1.28% of Waste Management worth $1,063,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Trium Capital LLP lifted its stake in Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Waste Management by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $219.05. 1,370,154 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,613,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $168.73 and a fifty-two week high of $226.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Waste Management's payout ratio is 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective 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. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was 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 directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.