Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Lessened by Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC

Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 420 shares during the quarter. Monograph Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.91 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a PE ratio of 34.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $228.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.88.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $941,181.86. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,582.29. The trade was a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WM. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

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.