Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC

Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,954 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 620 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 0.6% of Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Sand Hill Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,578,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1,106.7% in the 1st quarter. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 181 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Cutler Group LLC CA increased its stake in Waste Management by 482.8% in the 1st quarter. Cutler Group LLC CA now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Carmel Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total transaction of $27,423.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,059.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total transaction of $27,423.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,059.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John C. Pope sold 198 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.40, for a total transaction of $33,343.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,147 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,455,154.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.18.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $156.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.31 and a fifty-two week high of $174.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.01. The company has a market cap of $63.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.54 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $5.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.42% and a return on equity of 33.81%. The company’s revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 50.36%.

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.