Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Has $566,000 Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,008 shares during the quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $1,583,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc increased its position in Waste Management by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares during the period. Compass Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 537.0% during the 3rd quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $254.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $227.60 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $231.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.65. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.97, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.57.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 56.42%.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.