Keel Point LLC Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Keel Point LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,894 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 187 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:WM opened at $233.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.20. The firm has a market cap of $93.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at $15,424,457.04. This trade represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,924 shares of company stock valued at $21,298,176 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.29.

About Waste Management

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.