Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 93,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,083 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $20,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2%

WM stock opened at $219.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $222.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $224.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased 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. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.30.

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.