Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.22 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $190,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $104,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $668,000 after buying an additional 801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in 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 buying an additional 48,549 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $211.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $207.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $153.95 and a one year high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction 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 trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WM. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, CIBC cut their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

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.