Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Has $345,000 Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,709 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $345,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $782,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,371,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 55,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 252,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,013,000 after purchasing an additional 5,253 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.9 %

WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.