Northwest Bancshares Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Northwest Bancshares Inc. cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 121 shares during the quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the second quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $219.05 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $212.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $209.86. The firm has a market cap of $87.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $226.84.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

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.