Meeder Asset Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 67,241 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $4,349,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 8,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,717,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $227.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $224.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market cap of $91.60 billion, a PE ratio of 33.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were 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 directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.