Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Palmer Knight Co

Palmer Knight Co decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 88 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up 4.3% of Palmer Knight Co’s holdings, making the stock its 4th biggest position. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WM. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after acquiring an additional 46,084 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after purchasing an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,446,103 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $372,886,000 after acquiring an additional 9,001 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $214.21.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:WM traded up $1.98 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $212.08. 572,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,657,459. The firm has a market cap of $85.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $187.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. 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.