Waste Management, Inc. $WM Position Trimmed by Investment House LLC

Key Points

• Investment House LLC cut its Waste Management stake by 30.8% in the third quarter, selling 40,273 shares and retaining 90,323 shares valued at approximately $18.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.4% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 13 Buy ratings and five Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $256.06, despite several recent target reductions.
• Waste Management reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, ahead of the $1.98 estimate, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.945 per share, equivalent to a 1.6% annualized yield.

Investment House LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 90,323 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 40,273 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 0.8% of Investment House LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Investment House LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Common Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 12.9% during the second quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 55,895 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,458,000 after buying an additional 6,391 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,776,000 after acquiring an additional 14,003 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 16.2% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 409,741 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $94,155,000 after acquiring an additional 57,028 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 188.2% during the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 54,888 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $12,613,000 after acquiring an additional 35,841 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 2nd quarter. Kavar Capital Partners Group LLC now owns 14,207 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $3,166,000 after acquiring an additional 4,803 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $220.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.06.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $238.67 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $95.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.42. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $216.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.92 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 53.54%.

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.

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.