Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 249 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,529 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 249 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Synergy Financial Group LTD boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Financial Group LTD now owns 1,985 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,558 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,323,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the last quarter. Prasad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $336,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 10,815 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,182,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Waste Management by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 9,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at $13,052,881.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 44,405 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.43, for a total value of $10,143,434.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 211,061 shares in the company, valued at $48,212,664.23. The trade was a 17.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WM shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

WM opened at $230.59 on Wednesday. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $232.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $214.22 and a 200-day moving average of $213.47. The stock has a market cap of $92.72 billion, a PE ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

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.