SVB Wealth LLC Sells 2,849 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

SVB Wealth LLC reduced its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,849 shares during the quarter. SVB Wealth LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 26,236 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,699,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $442,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 39,206 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,022,000 after buying an additional 548 shares during the period. Canton Hathaway LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Canton Hathaway LLC now owns 10,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,861,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $859,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective on the stock. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total value of $461,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares in the company, valued at $6,080,935.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,804,339.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.50, for a total transaction of $461,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 32,959 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,080,935.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,507 shares of company stock worth $4,157,770 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WM opened at $204.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $206.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $184.27. The firm has a market cap of $82.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

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.