Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 5.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,200 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 11,400 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $37,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th 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. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased 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. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,902,246.40. This represents a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $230.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,372,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,642,511. The firm's 50 day moving average is $227.89 and its 200-day moving average is $218.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $239.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change 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 currently 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.