Hall Laurie J Trustee lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,840 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,360 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 1.9% of Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Hall Laurie J Trustee’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,211,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
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A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,984,227 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,925,244,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016,798 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 194.9% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,217,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $192,988,000 after acquiring an additional 804,708 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 3,120.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 600,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $96,197,000 after acquiring an additional 581,797 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 18.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,194,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $482,604,000 after acquiring an additional 504,966 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 21.5% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,605,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,394,000 after acquiring an additional 461,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.48% of the company’s stock.
Waste Management Price Performance
Waste Management stock opened at $153.15 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $138.89 and a 52 week high of $175.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72.
Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Waste Management announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.
Waste Management Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 51.95%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $31,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 64,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,969,135. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $31,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 64,317 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,969,135. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total value of $33,737.68. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 55,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,637,000.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,027 shares of company stock valued at $4,806,619 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts recently commented on WM shares. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $177.00 to $179.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.50.
About Waste Management
Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.
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