Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Zullo Investment Group Inc.

Zullo Investment Group Inc. decreased its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,486 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 75 shares during the quarter. Zullo Investment Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $502,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $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.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM opened at $228.40 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.70. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a market cap of $91.67 billion, a PE ratio of 33.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. The trade was a 7.74 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.