Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 82,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,611 shares during the period. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $1,064,206,000. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 15,782.4% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,728,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $395,512,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717,603 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,316,443 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,233,240,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239,996 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 55.5% in the second quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,897,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $663,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034,258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 982.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 886,164 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $195,692,000 after purchasing an additional 804,285 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $219.83 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $88.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $211.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. UBS Group cut their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Three equities research 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 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.95.

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.