Amica Retiree Medical Trust Cuts Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Amica Retiree Medical Trust lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Amica Retiree Medical Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WM. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Waste Management by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after buying an additional 280,455 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% during 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 buying an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $228.90 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.28. The firm has a market cap of $92.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WM. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Profile

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.