CFO4Life Group LLC Sells 158 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

CFO4Life Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,752 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up about 1.0% of CFO4Life Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. CFO4Life Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $5,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Balboa Wealth Partners grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,343 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 6,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,326,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 80,968 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,921 shares during the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 33,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,784,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tredje AP fonden grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Tredje AP fonden now owns 78,212 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,782,000 after purchasing an additional 33,212 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $222.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $219.61 and a 200-day moving average of $215.09. 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 cap of $89.63 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.59 and a 52-week high of $235.81.

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 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was 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. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.