Bank of New Hampshire Lowers Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bank of New Hampshire trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 106 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 94,414.4% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $538,013,000 after acquiring an additional 2,588,842 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 20,402.6% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after purchasing an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 11.3% in the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 32.1% during the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after acquiring an additional 437,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of WM traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $202.97. 121,831 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,098,823. The firm has a market cap of $81.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.04, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.68 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $215.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.