Wealth Alliance Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wealth Alliance lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WM. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.3 %

WM stock opened at $204.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $208.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.68. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

About Waste Management

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.