Eventide Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. $WM

Eventide Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 53.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,767 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,706 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Arax Advisory Partners boosted its position in Waste Management by 174.9% in the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 3,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 2,293 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 60,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $13,294,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Ally Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,648,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 21,383 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,698,000 after purchasing an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $266.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $255.30.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WM opened at $219.12 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $222.77 and a 200 day moving average of $224.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The firm has a market cap of $87.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.90% and a net margin of 10.99%.The company had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 8.15 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 54.70%.

About Waste Management

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.