Symmetry Partners LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Symmetry Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 69.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 969 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,201 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 94,414.4% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,591,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $538,013,000 after buying an additional 2,588,842 shares in the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $300,594,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 44.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $193,955,000. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 20,402.6% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 868,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $185,196,000 after buying an additional 863,846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.99. 1,267,741 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,302,040. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.83. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.34 and a 12-month high of $225.00. The stock has a market cap of $85.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.72, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WM. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.05.

Waste Management 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.