Vestcor Inc Trims Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 52,062 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 2,416 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Waste Management were worth $10,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 100,626 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $20,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,608 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 175,122 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,338,000 after acquiring an additional 9,397 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $236.65.

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Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % 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 worth $21,662,464. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WM opened at $222.91 on Thursday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $219.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $215.09. 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 capitalization of $89.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.78, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. 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 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.

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