Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA Sells 1,310 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,987 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,310 shares during the period. Mitchell Sinkler & Starr PA's holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the 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 directly owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total transaction of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares of the company's stock, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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Waste Management Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of WM traded up $0.05 on Wednesday, hitting $233.84. 560,388 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,128. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $94.03 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $225.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.98. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.