Parthenon LLC Boosts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Parthenon LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Parthenon LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $465,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $353,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the fourth quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 4,275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 5,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Certuity LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $267,000. Finally, Field & Main Bank increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 11,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,077,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $4.14 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $208.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,243,871 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,682,581. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $214.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $208.88 and a 200-day moving average of $188.04. The stock has a market cap of $83.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WM. HSBC cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $216.24.

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.