Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by FORA Capital LLC

FORA Capital LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,427 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $233.03 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $228.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $221.09. The company has a market cap of $93.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.75 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.