Bailard Inc. Sells 132 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bailard Inc. lessened its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 85,262 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 132 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $17,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 5,120,772 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,063,072,000 after buying an additional 520,096 shares during the last quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 32.1% in the 3rd quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,801,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $374,062,000 after buying an additional 437,613 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in Waste Management by 138.0% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 718,546 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,168,000 after buying an additional 416,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,668,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $232.83 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $215.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $213.96. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $233.04. 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 cap of $93.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.24, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Citigroup raised 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of Waste Management 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.