Trillium Asset Management LLC Sells 51,421 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Trillium Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,065 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 51,421 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $8,892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after purchasing an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.80 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $221.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 37.93%. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.