Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Acquired by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. raised its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,015 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the quarter. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. ARS Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,577 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 29.7% in the first quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 214 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX grew its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX now owns 4,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $290,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $204.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors 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 is currently 49.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Finally, 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

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.