Kimelman & Baird LLC Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Kimelman & Baird LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 212,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,813 shares during the quarter. Waste Management makes up approximately 3.4% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Kimelman & Baird LLC owned 0.05% of Waste Management worth $42,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $225.06 on Monday. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $220.52 and its 200 day moving average is $215.35. The company has a market cap of $90.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.10, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.