Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Fulcrum Asset Management LLP

Fulcrum Asset Management LLP lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 43.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,557 shares during the quarter. Fulcrum Asset Management LLP’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Mendel Money Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mendel Money Management now owns 2,903 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $641,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 9,644 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Investment Management LLC now owns 3,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $802,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $236.00 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $230.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $220.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.22, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $6.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.39 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 56.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total value of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 98,656 shares in the company, valued at $24,177,625.92. This represents a 7.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 12,194 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $233.48, for a total value of $2,847,055.12. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 6,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,406,483.52. The trade was a 66.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $223.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DZ Bank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.55.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.