Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 490 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the period. Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Activest Wealth Management increased its stake 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 valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Waste Management stock opened at $225.06 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $220.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.30. The company has a market capitalization of $90.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.