Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,140 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 54,773 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,533,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 2.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $450,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $225.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. The company’s fifty day moving average is $232.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.82.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. This represents a 66.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.59.

About Waste Management

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.