Colonial Trust Advisors Cuts Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Colonial Trust Advisors lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 57,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 149 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.0% of Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Colonial Trust Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted 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 during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.94.

Waste Management Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $224.33 on Thursday. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.