Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Old Port Advisors

Old Port Advisors cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 223 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises approximately 1.2% of Old Port Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. M&R Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 52.5% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,397 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 26.5% during the 4th quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 5,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,143 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $161,000. RB Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 17,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares during the period. Finally, RDA Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. 78.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered their target price on Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Waste Management from $167.00 to $158.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $190.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $169.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,164,825.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,214,010. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $14,799,318.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,027 shares of company stock valued at $4,806,619. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $153.15 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52-week low of $138.89 and a 52-week high of $175.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $152.41 and a 200 day moving average of $159.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market capitalization of $62.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The firm had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

Waste Management declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.