Waste Management, Inc. $WM Stock: SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Decreases Holdings

Key Points

• SeaCrest Wealth Management cut its Waste Management holdings by 84.6% in the third quarter, selling 9,999 shares and retaining 1,820 shares valued at approximately $371,000.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 80.4%, with major investors including BlackRock, State Street and UBS increasing their positions. An insider also sold shares, while insiders collectively own 0.18% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $256.06. WM recently reported quarterly EPS of $2.02, exceeding estimates, and pays an annualized dividend of $3.78 per share.

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,820 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,999 shares during the quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 30,733,944 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,849,981,000 after purchasing an additional 535,079 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 507,209 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,121,427 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $695,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,322 shares during the period. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 17.0% during the first quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 2,392,868 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $549,857,000 after purchasing an additional 348,183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,320,966 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $533,340,000 after purchasing an additional 26,847 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 3,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Barclays upped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $256.06.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $239.47 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $216.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market cap of $95.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 payout ratio is presently 53.54%.

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.

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