Bleakley Financial Group LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,922 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Waste Management by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 312,618 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,990,000 after purchasing an additional 48,549 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.3% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,478 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $209,000. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd increased its holdings in Waste Management by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 33,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,159,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC cut their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $212.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $208.48. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $153.95 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The company has a market capitalization of $85.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.13% and a return on equity of 39.52%. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 47.69%.

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.