Outfitter Financial LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Outfitter Financial LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,316 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,930 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 2.4% of Outfitter Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 124,848 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,193,000 after purchasing an additional 15,974 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $295,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,536 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $387,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 57,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.36, for a total transaction of $13,740,295.68. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 83,934 shares in the company, valued at $19,922,574.24. The trade was a 40.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 674 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.81, for a total transaction of $159,609.94. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 16,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,917,311.02. This trade represents a 3.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $2.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $228.17. 240,937 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,626,724. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $242.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.65, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $91.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $226.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 35.67% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $251.29.

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.