Hantz Financial Services Inc. Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 30,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,691 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,247,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Trium Capital LLP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 33.6% in the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 77.4% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Waste Management by 417.3% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 32.1% in the third quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $374,062,000 after purchasing an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $228.22 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $215.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $210.69. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.90, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WM. William Blair began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Argus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.