Weaver Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Weaver Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,439 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 271 shares during the period. Weaver Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,107,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Werlinich Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Werlinich Asset Management LLC now owns 4,385 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,055 shares of company stock worth $2,674,780 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus increased their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Ten 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.6 %

Waste Management stock opened at $222.33 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $187.20 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $212.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $211.25. The company has a market capitalization of $89.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its 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%. Research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

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.