Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,628 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 679.7% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 221,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $44,607,000 after acquiring an additional 192,703 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 21,029 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,243,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Waste Management by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 12,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,508,000 after buying an additional 3,016 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 6,287 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,269,000 after buying an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.34 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $226.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $217.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.66 billion, a PE ratio of 33.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate 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.