Waste Management, Inc. $WM Position Cut by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 43,818 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,236 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $9,627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after purchasing an additional 553,605 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,530,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $781,494,000 after purchasing an additional 236,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 12.6% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 3,262,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,380,000 after purchasing an additional 364,512 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total value of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 44,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the business’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 value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,084,739.94. The trade was a 5.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,842 shares of company stock worth $13,140,382 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of WM opened at $217.55 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $230.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $222.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.67.

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.