FORA Capital LLC Has $1.04 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

FORA Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 81.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,173 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 23,427 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,044,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research reports. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Hsbc Global Res raised Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This represents a 1.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock traded down $7.34 on Monday, hitting $225.41. 2,974,299 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,653,822. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a market cap of $90.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $228.44 and a 200-day moving average of $221.37.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Waste Management Company 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.