Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Wulff Hansen & CO.

Wulff Hansen & CO. cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $868,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 4,770 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,673,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 577 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA increased its stake in Waste Management by 51.0% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA now owns 19,231 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,444,000 after purchasing an additional 6,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $207.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.51 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. CIBC dropped their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.