Tower Bridge Advisors Boosts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Tower Bridge Advisors raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,022 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,364,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $217.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84. The company has a market cap of $87.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.32, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $211.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.68.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.