Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stake Lessened by Harbour Capital Advisors LLC

Harbour Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,456 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,950,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 69.0% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of WM opened at $234.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $233.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.75 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.00.

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.