Delos Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Delos Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 565 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $114,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,019,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 484,777 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $98,056,000 after acquiring an additional 48,196 shares in the last quarter. L & S Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. L & S Advisors Inc now owns 14,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,932,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategy Asset Managers LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 26,273 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,302,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $227.80 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.56. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.50, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. This represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WM. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.