Bill Few Associates Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bill Few Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 49,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,459,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 40.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 29,584 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,311,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its position in Waste Management by 167.1% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,970,000 after purchasing an additional 5,777 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.5% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 3,366 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $718,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,361 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $211.57 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $213.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $211.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $84.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $183.00 and a 12-month high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. 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 firm earned $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

About Waste Management

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.