Zimmer Partners LP Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Zimmer Partners LP decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 53,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 37,000 shares during the quarter. Zimmer Partners LP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,695,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $231.87 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value 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 trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. Company 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.