Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,697 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,821 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,952,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $231.73 on Tuesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $224.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $216.79.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued 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 analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

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.