Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 150 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meyer Handelman Co. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,050 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM opened at $208.99 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.20, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $207.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $198.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.