Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Lessened by Outfitter Financial LLC

Outfitter Financial LLC trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 105 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 2.5% of Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Breed s Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $318,000. Wealthspire Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 6,088 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,090,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc raised its position in Waste Management by 61.8% during the fourth quarter. Townsend & Associates Inc now owns 84,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,599,000 after purchasing an additional 32,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 667,086 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $119,475,000 after purchasing an additional 13,314 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $211.65. 403,939 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,653,901. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The firm has a market cap of $84.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $209.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $190.09.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.31 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $216.24.

Waste Management 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.