Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,857 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 510 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,227,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth 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. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $196.59 and a one year high of $235.81. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $222.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS 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%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. 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. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total transaction of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. The trade was a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 research note on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.