Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Holdings Trimmed by Westchester Capital Management Inc.

Westchester Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up about 4.5% of Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Westchester Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $18,037,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,608 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $930,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 175,122 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,338,000 after buying an additional 9,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saturna Capital Corp raised its stake in Waste Management by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 1,951 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.5 %

Waste Management stock opened at $224.25 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $219.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.04.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company 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.