HF Advisory Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

HF Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 69 shares during the period. HF Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,865,000. Clare Market Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 29.1% during the 1st quarter. Clare Market Investments LLC now owns 13,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,062,000 after buying an additional 2,980 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 19.2% during the 1st quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 4,560 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,056,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $277.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.06.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $239.07 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $242.58. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $223.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total value of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. The trade was a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,966 shares of company stock worth $18,486,402 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.