Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 96 shares during the period. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $375,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $340,611,000. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 6,272,009 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,265,629,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151,237 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 138.0% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $60,668,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.2 %

Waste Management stock opened at $226.83 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $222.33 and its 200-day moving average is $215.73. The company has a market cap of $91.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.