FineMark National Bank & Trust Has $319,000 Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

FineMark National Bank & Trust lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 283 shares during the period. FineMark National Bank & Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares in the company, valued at $19,158,100.47. This represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $228.90 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $223.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $216.28. The firm has a market cap of $92.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.66, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a boost 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 yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.