Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC Sells 2,996 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 123,935 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,996 shares during the quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $25,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 6.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Waste Management by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $230.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,639,884. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $227.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $218.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.95, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James lifted their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $237.76.

Waste Management 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.