Financial Network Wealth Management LLC Has $913,000 Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Financial Network Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $913,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 0.8% in 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 buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th 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. boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after buying an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,980,000 after buying an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $226.83 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $222.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.73. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $91.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. 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 released its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

About Waste Management

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.