HighTower Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 296,820 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,968 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Management worth $65,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Holos Integrated Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WM. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.3%

Waste Management stock opened at $219.37 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $227.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $88.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 35,296 shares of company stock worth $8,569,283 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.