Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 594 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,996,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Swedbank AB increased its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 9.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,557,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 21.4% in the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter worth $228,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE WM opened at $224.76 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $222.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.91. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.