Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 282,991 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 716,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 282,991 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.18% of Waste Management worth $163,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. McAdam LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the second quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.3% in the second quarter. KWB Wealth now owns 3,607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.0% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $215.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The business had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.97%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WM. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price objective on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.14.

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.