Allstate Corp Boosts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 105.8% to 29,743 shares valued at about $6.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment remains broadly positive, with Waste Management carrying a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $255.67; analysts at Wells Fargo, Barclays, Oppenheimer, and Stifel all recently reaffirmed bullish views.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.81 per share, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, implying an annualized yield of about 1.8%.

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 105.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,743 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 15,291 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,535,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. RHL Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $255.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,818 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.83, for a total value of $1,165,136.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 78,918 shares in the company, valued at $19,084,739.94. This trade represents a 5.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 17,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $241.81, for a total transaction of $4,171,464.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 44,146 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,674,944.26. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,296 shares of company stock valued at $8,569,283. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $215.42 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $226.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.18, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a $0.945 dividend. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.70%.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc NYSE: WM is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.