Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,217 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WM. Illumine Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $592,000. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 14.6% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 2,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,684 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, HC Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. HC Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on WM. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Raymond James increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $233.04. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $215.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.96.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.