Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Has $32.67 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 161,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $32,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Down 4.9 %

WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.71 and a 200-day moving average of $217.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.