Parkside Financial Bank & Trust Acquires 298 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in 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 boosted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Pineridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $233.04. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $93.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.89.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James upped 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. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

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.