Ascent Group LLC Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ascent Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,490 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 184 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.0 %

WM opened at $225.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $215.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $210.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.31 billion, a PE ratio of 34.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $171.15 and a one year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other 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 transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $228.94.

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.