Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Stock Position Reduced by LGT Group Foundation

LGT Group Foundation lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,421 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 832 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,305,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $216.31 and its 200-day moving average is $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.