Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 2,335 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,335 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $35,816,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 20.7% in the second quarter. Sompo Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 6,229 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Waste Management by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,459,000 after buying an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Waste Management by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 225,389 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,085,000 after buying an additional 37,754 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.4% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 104,311 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,254,000 after purchasing an additional 4,399 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, CIBC decreased their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $204.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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.