Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 1,738 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.2% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 77,538 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,738 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $16,542,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 170.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $204.10 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $149.71 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.40, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.82. The company had revenue of $5.40 billion for 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%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.24 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

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.