Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 106.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 118,794 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,142 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,344,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WM. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 43,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 145.7% in the 2nd quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,947 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.8% during the second quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 46,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,003,000 after purchasing an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 23.9% during the second quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in Waste Management by 6.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,846,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $820,539,000 after buying an additional 243,900 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several analyst reports. CIBC reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $207.52 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $206.76 and its 200 day moving average is $208.60. The company has a market cap of $83.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Waste Management Company 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.