Westover Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Westover Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Westover Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake 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 worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WM opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $216.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

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.