Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 562 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,914 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $32,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total transaction of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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.

Waste Management Trading Down 4.9 %

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $225.34 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $226.71 and its 200 day moving average is $217.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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 forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Company 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.