Howe & Rusling Inc. Reduces Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Howe & Rusling Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,850 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 524 shares during the quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 27,280 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,663,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 5.2% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 34,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,101,000 after purchasing an additional 1,701 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 18.2% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 97,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,226,000 after purchasing an additional 3,031 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in Waste Management by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,235 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,332,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total value of $4,303,870.63. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 8,420 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $229.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $224.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $216.37. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.