Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 404,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55,613 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.0% of Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $88,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 101.5% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 133 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Holos Integrated Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $263.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective (down from $254.00) on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.59.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, COO John J. Morris sold 4,211 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.38, for a total value of $1,024,873.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 99,929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,320,720.02. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 121 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $245.27, for a total value of $29,677.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 9,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,279,294.11. The trade was a 1.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 98,042 shares of company stock worth $23,039,777. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:WM opened at $231.02 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The firm had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.42%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.