Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,293,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Trium Capital LLP boosted its position in Waste Management by 33.6% during the third quarter. Trium Capital LLP now owns 12,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 3,029 shares during the last quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 20,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,145 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% during the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $7,146,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its stake in Waste Management by 417.3% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7 %

WM opened at $208.32 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $208.81 and its 200-day moving average is $208.58. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $161.60 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on WM shares. CIBC decreased their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $213.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $218.89.

Waste Management 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.