Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA

Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WM. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $220.10 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $88.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $184.72 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $212.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.