Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,588 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Yousif Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,588 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $231.56 on Thursday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $194.11 and a 1-year high of $248.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $232.85 and its 200 day moving average is $221.67.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 target price (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $265.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,130. This represents a 32.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at $10,674,944.26. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.