Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Sells 126 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $651,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $228.64 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $214.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $213.58. 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 $91.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.62, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $232.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.