Stanley Laman Group Ltd. Has $4.12 Million Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Stanley Laman Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,981 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,116,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $145,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 1,652 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. grew its position in Waste Management by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Financial Services CORP. now owns 3,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,816 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,369 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $424,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.1 %

WM stock traded up $2.22 during trading on Thursday, reaching $212.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,097,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,671,379. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $208.37 and a 200 day moving average of $186.50. The company has a market cap of $85.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WM. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,934,010.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.