Palmer Knight Co Has $8.27 Million Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Palmer Knight Co trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 3.6% of Palmer Knight Co’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Palmer Knight Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $220.44 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $209.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $209.06. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $168.73 and a 1-year high of $225.00. The firm has a market cap of $88.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.