Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,532 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 816 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $15,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price for the company. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $1.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $206.90. 164,046 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,651,440. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $206.94 and a 200 day moving average of $184.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were 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 approximately $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Company 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.