Wambolt & Associates LLC Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Wambolt & Associates LLC decreased its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,398 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.1% of Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Wambolt & Associates LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in 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. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $226.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50-day moving average is $223.07 and its 200-day moving average is $216.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. CIBC increased their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.