Keeler Thomas Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Keeler Thomas Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,619 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,961,563 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $597,614,000 after buying an additional 157,082 shares during the period. Synergy Financial Group LTD grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 1,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $336,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 10,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,182,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 211,061 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $48,212,664.23. This represents a 17.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. This represents a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,460 shares of company stock valued at $13,721,774 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WM. CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE WM opened at $229.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $92.36 billion, a PE ratio of 33.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $213.79 and a 200 day moving average of $213.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $230.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 44.12%.

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.