Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,907 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,767 shares during the period. McAdam LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. Red Wave Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Red Wave Investments LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 113,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,400,000 after acquiring an additional 38,696 shares during the period. Finally, Silver Oak Securities Incorporated lifted its position in Waste Management by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 2,347 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $1.90 on Monday, hitting $212.00. 576,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,657,459. The stock has a market capitalization of $85.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.21.

Waste Management 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.