Hager Investment Management Services LLC Sells 45 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Hager Investment Management Services LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,665 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 126.9% during the first quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. West Branch Capital LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 69.0% during the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Adalta Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Melius started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at $3,917,311.02. This represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total value of $13,740,295.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This trade represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $229.35 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65. The company has a market capitalization of $92.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $242.58. The business’s 50-day moving average is $232.17 and its 200 day moving average is $226.05.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

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.