Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 19.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,483 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 587 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 534.5% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,411,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,842,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 83.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 44.8% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,234,000 after acquiring an additional 10,212 shares in the last quarter. 78.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,059.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director John C. Pope sold 198 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.40, for a total value of $33,343.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 56,147 shares in the company, valued at $9,455,154.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Bruce E. Chinn sold 172 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,059.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded down $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $159.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 115,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,584,935. The firm has a market cap of $64.65 billion, a PE ratio of 28.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $161.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.14. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.31 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 5.96 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.36%.

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.