Palmer Knight Co Sells 257 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Palmer Knight Co cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 3.6% of Palmer Knight Co’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Trium Capital LLP grew its holdings in Waste Management by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after buying an additional 3,029 shares in the last quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,553,000 after acquiring an additional 5,367 shares in the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 18.6% during the first quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 20,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,145 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its stake in Waste Management by 417.3% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $220.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $209.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $209.06. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $168.73 and a 12 month high of $225.00.

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

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company 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.