Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 7,075 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 47.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,689 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 7,075 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,551,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % 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 business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 75,173 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,967 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on WM shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $229.51 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $218.22 and a 200-day moving average of $214.73. The stock has a market cap of $92.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. 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.