Voloridge Investment Management LLC Sells 217,583 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 604,776 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 217,583 shares during the quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC owned about 0.15% of Waste Management worth $122,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9%

WM opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $941,181.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 62,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,288,582.29. This represents a 6.18% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.