10,055 Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Stillwater Wealth Management Group

Key Points

• Stillwater Wealth Management Group cut its Waste Management stake by 62.1% in the third quarter, selling 10,055 shares and retaining 6,137 shares valued at approximately $1.25 million.
• Institutional investors hold 80.4% of Waste Management’s stock, with BlackRock and State Street among the company’s largest shareholders; an insider also sold 1,365 shares.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $256.06, while Waste Management recently beat quarterly EPS estimates and pays a $0.945 quarterly dividend, yielding about 1.6%.

Stillwater Wealth Management Group decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 62.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,137 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 10,055 shares during the quarter. Stillwater Wealth Management Group's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Morgan Stanley Institutional Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at about $322,479,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 23,051.5% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 770,945 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $17,716,000 after buying an additional 767,615 shares during the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $146,053,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $6,849,981,000 after buying an additional 535,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Waste Management by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,008,931 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,013,831,000 after buying an additional 507,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM traded down $1.67 on Wednesday, reaching $230.06. 834,352 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,182,019. The stock has a market cap of $91.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.42. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $216.23 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.68%. Waste Management's revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.92 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.12 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.9450 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 53.54%.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waste Management’s essential waste-collection and disposal services provide relatively resilient demand. A recent investment thesis highlights long-term growth opportunities from population and economic trends, while waste management is identified as an industry with durable demand drivers beyond the artificial-intelligence theme. Waste Management: Turn America's Trash Into Your Treasure
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street is expecting year-over-year earnings growth in the next quarterly report. In the most recently reported quarter, WM exceeded the consensus EPS estimate, although revenue was slightly below expectations, and sales still increased 4% year over year. Waste Management Beats Stock Market Upswing
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and investors are assessing whether WM should be bought, held, or sold after second-quarter earnings. The shares have remained broadly range-bound around $225 since April and have lagged the S&P 500, suggesting limited near-term momentum despite the company’s defensive characteristics. Waste Management Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q2 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage warns that WM does not currently have the typical combination of positive earnings revisions and estimate momentum associated with a likely earnings beat. That caution may be weighing on the stock ahead of results expected next week. Waste Management Reports Next Week

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM NYSE: WM, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM's services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.

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