USA Financial Formulas Decreases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

USA Financial Formulas lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 77.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,374 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,599 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $216.54 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $211.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.09. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.10, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Robert W. Baird upgraded Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $238.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Barclays decreased their price target on Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, November 14th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $238.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.95.

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 value of $299,542.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management 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.