Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Sterling Investment Management LLC

Sterling Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,549 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 76 shares during the quarter. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE WM opened at $212.77 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $182.93 and a one year high of $230.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $213.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.53, a PEG 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.72.

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.