IMS Capital Management Sells 146 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

IMS Capital Management cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,342 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Essex Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 18,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 30,526 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Point Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $965,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of WM traded up $1.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $207.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,793,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,543. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $208.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $205.67. The company has a market capitalization of $83.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.25 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

Waste Management 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.