KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 49.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 313,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 104,299 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $65,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% during the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.67 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $210.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $90.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $226.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

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.