Davis R M Inc. Trims Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Davis R M Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $784,486,000. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $300,594,000. Mirova US LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after acquiring an additional 910,418 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $523,581,000 after acquiring an additional 844,298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $117,299,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:WM traded down $4.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 884,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,686,490. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on WM. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.39.

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.