First Foundation Advisors Sells 55 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Foundation Advisors reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 4,799,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,624,000 after buying an additional 16,213 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $784,486,000. Capital World Investors raised its position in Waste Management by 44.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 4,226,869 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $900,957,000 after purchasing an additional 1,303,466 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in Waste Management by 85.6% during the second quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 1,561,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $333,234,000 after purchasing an additional 720,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,521,449 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $272,491,000 after purchasing an additional 5,103 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $208.48 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 1.07 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.67 billion, a PE ratio of 34.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.51 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CIBC dropped their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.83.

About Waste Management

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.