Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. Sells 217 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Hall Capital Management Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 217 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises about 2.2% of Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Hall Capital Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. DSM Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,364,000. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 173,782 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,124,000 after acquiring an additional 4,199 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,673,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares in the company, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 44,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $209.20. 759,936 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,680,949. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $149.71 and a 12 month high of $225.00. The company has a market cap of $83.96 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $209.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.06.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.82. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, CIBC cut their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.83.

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.