Fidelis Capital Partners LLC Sells 599 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Fidelis Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,633 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the third quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WM. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James boosted 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $216.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $93.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.