Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 0.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 339,062 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,693 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.3% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS's holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned about 0.08% of Waste Management worth $70,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $418,000. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% in the first quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,003,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.3% during the first quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 22,025 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter valued at $1,116,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,610 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,901,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $220.00 price target for the company. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $1.96 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $220.44. 1,365,408 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,384. The company has a market capitalization of $88.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $168.73 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $209.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.06.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 45.87%.

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.