Procyon Advisors LLC Has $2.19 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Procyon Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,584 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,188,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth $325,000. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $3,289,000. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 25.5% during the second quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 8,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after buying an additional 1,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 10.7% in the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 11,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,521,000 after buying an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total transaction of $1,165,136.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total transaction of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $231.18 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $231.38 and its 200-day moving average is $220.63. The company has a market cap of $93.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.50, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 32.45%. The company had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 56.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings raised Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.59.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.