Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $8.83 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 43,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 14,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,860,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $448,000. First National Bank of Hutchinson raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 3,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $755,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 179,692 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $387,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $226.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.21 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $222.33 and a 200-day moving average of $215.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.