GM Advisory Group LLC Sells 446 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

GM Advisory Group LLC lowered its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 23.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 446 shares during the quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,135,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in 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 worth $854,446,000 after acquiring an additional 280,455 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Management by 6.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.7 %

Waste Management stock opened at $227.37 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $221.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $215.65. 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 twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a market capitalization of $91.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced 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 net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.