Covenant Asset Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Covenant Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,752,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Biltmore Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 53,077 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 7,276 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,511,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,087,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $433,262,000 after purchasing an additional 18,983 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $221.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $168.73 and a 12-month high of $226.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $210.00.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.63 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus increased their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Waste Management

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.