Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Geneva Partners LLC

Geneva Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,141 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Geneva Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Financial Advocates Investment Management increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 13,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 705 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 286.2% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 421 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 20,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,195,000 after acquiring an additional 2,486 shares during the period. Finally, Country Club Bank increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Country Club Bank now owns 4,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $956,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $234.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,780. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $224.67 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $211.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $211.34. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $187.48 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.04, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 38.88%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.