McIlrath & Eck LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

McIlrath & Eck LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.91 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $228.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $221.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market cap of $94.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC raised 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

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.