Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Grows Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 62,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,604 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $13,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $221.53 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $88.92 billion, a PE ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $226.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

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.