Banque Pictet & Cie SA Grows Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Banque Pictet & Cie SA raised its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,940 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for approximately 2.5% of Banque Pictet & Cie SA's portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Banque Pictet & Cie SA owned about 0.47% of Waste Management worth $377,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd 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. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $1,063,072,000 after acquiring an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $149,168,000 after purchasing an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares in the company, valued at $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $228.38. 1,692,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,692,975. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $91.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $212.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Argus upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $235.94.

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.