Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,469 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,390,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $224.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management 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.