Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock Holdings Cut by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 83,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,392 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC grew 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 worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co boosted its holdings in 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 worth $943,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. KWB Wealth grew its position 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 buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,340,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $250.41.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management 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 value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $221.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $216.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 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 firm has a market capitalization of $89.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.97%.

About Waste Management

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.