Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 490 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,687 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Eldridge Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WM. Activest Wealth Management raised its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in 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 during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. This trade represents a 18.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $225.06 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $220.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.