Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Decreased by Haverford Trust Co

Haverford Trust Co decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 71 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,028,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,499,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the period. Nwam LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Finally, GenTrust LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter worth about $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $224.76 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $222.69 and a 200-day moving average of $215.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.