Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC

Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 29.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 428 shares during the period. Fairhaven Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.61.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $0.13 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $210.33. 1,647,629 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,542,620. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $84.36 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

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.