Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Position Reduced by F M Investments LLC

F M Investments LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 26.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 56,134 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 20,702 shares during the quarter. F M Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $11,327,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th 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 research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $237.76.

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Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $231.95. The stock had a trading volume of 337,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,633,077. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. 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 cap of $93.32 billion, a PE ratio of 34.11, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $227.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $218.47.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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%. On average, equities analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. This is a boost from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.