Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 17,928 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Boston Trust Walden cut its Waste Management stake by 18% in the third quarter, selling 17,928 shares and retaining 81,552 shares valued at about $16.63 million.
• Waste Management reported quarterly revenue of $6.85 billion, up 6.3% year over year, but earnings per share of $2.15 missed analysts’ $2.18 consensus estimate.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $257.89; the company’s quarterly dividend equates to $3.78 annually per share, a 1.6% yield.

Boston Trust Walden Corp trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,552 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,928 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp's holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Main Street Group LTD bought a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Balance Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $31,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $36,000. Markowski Investments bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $771,629.10. The trade was a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.2%

Waste Management stock opened at $241.41 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $197.47 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $96.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day moving average price is $219.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $225.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.98 EPS. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 49.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $267.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $277.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $257.89.

Waste Management 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.

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.