Principal Street Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Principal Street Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 61.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the period. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management increased its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

WM opened at $227.45 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $168.73 and a one year high of $228.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.78, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.