Delta Asset Management LLC TN Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Delta Asset Management LLC TN lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,392 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,080 shares during the period. Delta Asset Management LLC TN’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,963,527 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,061,521,000 after purchasing an additional 46,084 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $794,174,000 after acquiring an additional 66,816 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $784,486,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,065,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $619,797,000 after purchasing an additional 90,129 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $1.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $209.92. 1,210,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,664,491. The company has a market capitalization of $84.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $209.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $193.16. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.29 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total value of $1,844,111.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,804,339.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,282 shares of company stock valued at $2,754,889. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

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.