Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Essex LLC

Essex LLC cut its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Essex LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% during the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.7% during the third quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $232,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WM. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Ten 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

WM opened at $224.94 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $187.48 and a twelve month high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $211.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.44. The firm has a market cap of $90.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.12%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total value of $903,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,055 shares of company stock worth $3,578,340 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.