Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 393,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,863 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 0.10% of Waste Management worth $83,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 170.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $201.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $81.01 billion, a PE ratio of 33.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.10%.

Waste Management 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.