Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 18,680 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 35.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,480 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 18,680 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. now owns 211 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $216.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $172.30 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.03, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $217.14 and its 200 day moving average is $211.27.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC boosted their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Argus upped their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $229.33.

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.