Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Providence First Trust Co

Providence First Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 38.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 790 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 495 shares during the period. Providence First Trust Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management grew its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $233.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $213.89. The company has a market capitalization of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.