Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 17.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. Johnson Bixby & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.0% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,459,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 167.1% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,970,000 after buying an additional 5,777 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 7.5% during the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the second quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlTi Global Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 35.6% during the 2nd quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 1,802 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WM opened at $209.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.10, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $183.00 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $213.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $229.72.

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.