Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Legacy Capital Group California Inc.

Legacy Capital Group California Inc. decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the period. Legacy Capital Group California Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $627,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.4 %

WM stock opened at $208.91 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $208.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.54. The stock has a market cap of $83.84 billion, a PE ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $156.36 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. 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 company posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 47.69%.

About Waste Management

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.