Allstate Corp Sells 604 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Allstate Corp decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 604 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 127.3% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $241.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. HSBC cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.26 on Friday, reaching $209.23. The company had a trading volume of 298,576 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,646,038. The firm has a market cap of $83.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $209.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $193.39. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 2,611 shares of company stock worth $546,839 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.