Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.

Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Alan B Lancz & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $202,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 167.1% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,970,000 after acquiring an additional 5,777 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 1,798.6% during the 2nd quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 28,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,165,000 after purchasing an additional 27,375 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 7,083 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.8% in the second quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 46,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,003,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 145.7% during the second quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $700,000 after buying an additional 1,947 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $209.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $212.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $211.27. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $183.00 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.