Schulhoff & Co. Inc. Sells 46 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Schulhoff & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 46 shares during the period. Schulhoff & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HC Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. HC Advisors LLC now owns 1,632 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. A&I Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $247,000. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $1,035,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $59,592,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 position. The sale 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 209 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.5 %

WM opened at $229.73 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $232.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $92.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $215.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $213.69.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

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.