Sonora Investment Management Group LLC Has $1.87 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Sonora Investment Management Group LLC trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,475 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Sonora Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth $263,000. HF Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the third quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,664 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $809,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 95.3% during the third quarter. Inspirion Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 1,632 shares during the period. Finally, Insight Wealth Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 12,070 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,482 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $249.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This trade represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3%

WM stock opened at $219.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $88.23 billion, a PE ratio of 34.49, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $242.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

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.