Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Has $41.96 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 190,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,343 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $41,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter worth $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% during the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Waste Management from $232.00 to $230.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.0%

WM opened at $238.61 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.61, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $229.82 and its 200 day moving average is $220.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total transaction of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,279,294.11. This trade represents a 1.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 78,918 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 98,042 shares of company stock valued at $23,039,777 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.