PFG Advisors Sells 192 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

PFG Advisors cut its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,716 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 192 shares during the period. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 59,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $12,088,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $239,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 559,341 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $112,869,000 after purchasing an additional 49,742 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 375.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 255,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,529,000 after purchasing an additional 201,621 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 87.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $225.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $220.52 and a 200 day moving average of $215.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank upped their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.