Quadrant Capital Group LLC Sells 92 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,150 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $226.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $217.45. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

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.