Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 89.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153,999 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after acquiring an additional 20,122 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,843,000 after acquiring an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business’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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 35,222 shares of company stock valued at $8,552,294 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $211.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.58, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $224.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Waste Management Company 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.