Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Purchases 4,749 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 55,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $300,594,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $900,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,303,466 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,955,000. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $185,196,000 after acquiring an additional 863,846 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $204.54 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.70. The company has a market cap of $82.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. CIBC dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Eleven research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

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.