Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Reduced by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC cut its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,702 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,756,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Raymond James increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, 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. Nine 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.3 %

WM opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. 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 market capitalization of $93.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $216.31 and a 200-day moving average of $214.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend 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.