Greenleaf Trust Raises Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Gilfoyle & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. KB Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. HSBC lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $207.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,354,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,594,248. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $207.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total transaction of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,934,010.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.