Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Has $8.80 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 41,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,514 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $784,486,000. Mirova US LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 26,116.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirova US LLC now owns 913,904 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $163,680,000 after purchasing an additional 910,418 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 40.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,923,403 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $523,581,000 after purchasing an additional 844,298 shares during the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $117,299,000. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 128.2% during the 3rd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 898,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $137,012,000 after buying an additional 504,924 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $241.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $211.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $207.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.61.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $3.38 on Monday, hitting $212.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,473,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,719,979. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $85.18 billion, a PE ratio of 34.76, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.95.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

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

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.