Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC Purchases 16,100 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 111,936 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,100 shares during the period. Waters Parkerson & CO. LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $24,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $43,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $221.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $89.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.84, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $215.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.25. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, December 29th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $262.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. The trade was a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Profile

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.