Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Key Points

• Lord Abbett & Co. LLC reduced its Waste Management stake by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 54,679 shares and leaving it with 528,235 shares valued at about $116.1 million.
• Waste Management reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.81 beating estimates of $1.75, while revenue came in at $6.23 billion, slightly below expectations but up 3.5% year over year.
• The company continues to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, or $3.78 annualized, yielding about 1.7%; analysts remain generally positive with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $255.30 price target.

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 528,235 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 54,679 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned about 0.13% of Waste Management worth $116,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,341,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $527,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 16,963 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,727,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $219.12 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $194.11 and a twelve month high of $248.13. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $222.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $224.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.71, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WM. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $255.30.

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.