Palmer Knight Co Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Palmer Knight Co lifted its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,008 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 3.6% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Waste Management by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 50.6% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,937,000 after purchasing an additional 4,628 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 7.6% in the second quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 5,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $853,000. Finally, 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at $332,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $209.93 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $184.72 and a 12-month high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $84.26 billion, a PE ratio of 32.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $212.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $211.29.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.39.

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.