Pathstone Holdings LLC Sells 672 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Pathstone Holdings LLC lessened its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,731 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 672 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total transaction of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares in the company, valued at $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $227.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $228.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.51. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $91.65 billion, a PE ratio of 33.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Waste Management 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.