Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Angeles Investment Advisors LLC

Angeles Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,256 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 102 shares during the quarter. Angeles Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $253,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings 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 valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $224.76 on Monday. 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 one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $222.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.91.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. The trade was a 1.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. This trade represents a 12.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James lifted their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.65.

About Waste Management

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.