Outfitter Financial LLC Sells 125 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Outfitter Financial LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,246 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for about 2.1% of Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Outfitter Financial LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,673,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Argus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.07 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $213.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.81. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 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. The company has a market capitalization of $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.69, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

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.