Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Sells 1,129 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 7.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,716 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,129 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,175,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $25,193,000 after buying an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 242.2% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,071 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 23,620 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,766,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 199,331 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,223,000 after acquiring an additional 16,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $231.94 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $233.07 and a 200-day moving average of $224.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.67% and a return on equity of 35.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. CIBC lifted their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $248.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 83,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,922,574.24. This represents a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

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