Stance Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 5,502 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,259,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at about $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Disciplina Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 123.2% in the 1st quarter. Disciplina Capital Management LLC now owns 221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $255.00 target price for the company. Baird R W upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. National Bankshares dropped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $249.14.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $215.49 on Monday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $211.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $86.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.