Sandhill Capital Partners LLC Sells 3,261 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sandhill Capital Partners LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,649 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,261 shares during the period. Sandhill Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Abbrea Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after acquiring an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 138,862 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,870,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the last quarter. Disciplined Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $161,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 89,579 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,044,000 after acquiring an additional 2,016 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.1 %

WM stock traded up $2.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $212.65. 2,097,044 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,379. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.02, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $186.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WM shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Company 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.