Little House Capital LLC Sells 4,202 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Little House Capital LLC lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 28.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,489 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,202 shares during the period. Little House Capital LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,316,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the third quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 16,404 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,622,000 after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.4% in the third quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,775 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.8% during the third quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 4,763 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,052,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the third quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 152,495 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,675,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $231.26 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $218.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.20. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58. The stock has a market cap of $93.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price target for the company. CIBC reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $238.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $251.19.

Insider Buying and Selling

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