Gradient Investments LLC Has $4.48 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 12,092 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.9% in the third quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 2,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the third quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.7% in the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,952 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.5% in the third quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.0% during the third quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,398 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total transaction of $120,888.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,210 shares in the company, valued at $787,283.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total transaction of $120,888.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,210 shares in the company, valued at $787,283.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,164,825.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,214,010. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,027 shares of company stock worth $4,806,619 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $185.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $190.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $169.50.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $153.15 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.14. The company has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.89 and a 52-week high of $175.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 9th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.95%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.