Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Sells 22,540 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 448,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 22,540 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up 2.4% of Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC owned 0.11% of Waste Management worth $98,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. RHL Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $220.45 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.62 and a 200 day moving average of $224.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $194.11 and a 1 year high of $248.13. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $88.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.45.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.67 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.945 per share. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $255.67.

About Waste Management

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.