Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by SL Advisors LLC

SL Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,125 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for 1.0% of SL Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. SL Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% in the third quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 1,380 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $294,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of WM stock traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $206.19. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 895,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,429,067. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $177.38 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $211.45. The company has a market cap of $82.76 billion, a PE ratio of 31.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

About Waste Management

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.