USS Investment Management Ltd Sells 17,616 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. $WM

USS Investment Management Ltd cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 77,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,616 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Broadway Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Bey Douglas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Bey Douglas LLC now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. San Luis Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $527,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.30.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WM opened at $224.31 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $220.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.08 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.44. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

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.