Victory Capital Management Inc. Lowers Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 38,431 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $38,986,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,364,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 173,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,124,000 after purchasing an additional 4,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,673,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $208.48 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $83.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.12, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. CIBC decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.