S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC Sells 144 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC decreased its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 17,683 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,769,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Waste Management in the first quarter worth approximately $223,000. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 8.6% during the first quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,717 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,219,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Atwater Malick LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Atwater Malick LLC now owns 67,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth $309,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $213.34. 2,908,229 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,412. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $208.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.69. The company has a market cap of $85.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 49.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total transaction of $859,610.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.