Waste Management, Inc. $WM Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,483 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,092,000. Guerra Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 59.5% during the third quarter. Guerra Advisors Inc now owns 9,037 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,996,000 after purchasing an additional 3,371 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 196,585 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $43,192,000 after purchasing an additional 3,880 shares in the last quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 537.0% during the third quarter. Compass Wealth Management LLC now owns 95,721 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,138,000 after purchasing an additional 80,695 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 19.1% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 69,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,301,000 after purchasing an additional 11,135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $227.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $232.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a PE ratio of 32.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $0.945 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $236.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $255.67.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 7,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.50, for a total value of $1,724,044.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,644,130. The trade was a 32.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO John J. Morris sold 7,979 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.07, for a total transaction of $1,955,413.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 98,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,177,625.92. This trade represents a 7.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,616 shares of company stock worth $21,849,115 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.