Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Position Cut by Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC

Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,535,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 49,176 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 35.7% of Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.38% of Waste Management worth $337,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $222.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $224.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

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.