GeoWealth Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GeoWealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,616 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 468 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $931,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Nine investment 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,646,598.37. This represents a 9.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE WM opened at $230.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $227.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $219.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

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.