Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 99 shares during the quarter. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,467 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,718,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 11,315 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 2,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,215,000 after buying an additional 3,600 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $213.80 and its 200 day moving average is $211.24. The company has a market capitalization of $85.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.56 and a twelve month 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.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. Waste Management’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Ten 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.72.

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.