CFO4Life Group LLC Decreases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CFO4Life Group LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,506 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 771 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for about 1.1% of CFO4Life Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 10.5% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,982 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Waste Management by 92.4% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 110,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,784,000 after purchasing an additional 52,882 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Waste Management by 11.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 39,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,019,000 after purchasing an additional 4,034 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its stake in Waste Management by 5.6% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 27,121 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carmignac Gestion grew its stake in Waste Management by 8.3% in the third quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 95,408 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,544,000 after purchasing an additional 7,352 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $2.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $214.10. The stock had a trading volume of 573,561 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,953. The stock has a market cap of $85.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.79. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $202.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.33.

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.