Metis Global Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Metis Global Partners LLC cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,998 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter worth $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% in the third quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $211.66 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.42. The firm has a market cap of $84.89 billion, a PE ratio of 34.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

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.