Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,387 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Providence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 1st quarter worth $29,700,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 110,208.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,778,550 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $749,659,000 after purchasing an additional 4,774,218 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $658,370,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in Waste Management by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,156,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Waste Management by 194.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,217,592 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $192,988,000 after purchasing an additional 804,708 shares during the last quarter. 78.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total transaction of $27,423.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 822 shares in the company, valued at $131,059.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 198 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.40, for a total transaction of $33,343.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 56,147 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,154.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.44, for a total transaction of $27,423.68. Following the sale, the director now owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,059.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $160.48 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.86, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average of $161.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $162.47. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $148.31 and a 12-month high of $173.71.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.23 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.81% and a net margin of 11.42%. The business’s revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.36%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $202.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 in a report on Thursday, July 27th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $192.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $185.00 to $179.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $180.25.

Waste Management Profile

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.