Conning Inc. Decreases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Conning Inc. lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 20,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 417 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 1,754 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Waste Management by 9.5% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 5,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 4,104 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Cypress Wealth Services LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth $394,000. Finally, Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $216,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.50.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $224.94 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $211.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.43. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $187.48 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.