Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC Has $1.92 Million Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,708 shares during the quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,918,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,240,429 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $854,446,000 after purchasing an additional 280,455 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 77.4% in the third quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 12,298 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,553,000 after buying an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after buying an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Management by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $224.77 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $211.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $211.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $90.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.78. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $187.48 and a one year high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 38.88% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 5,826 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,294,071.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 69,442 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,424,457.04. This represents a 7.74 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,055 shares of company stock valued at $2,674,780. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $234.50.

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.