Lakeside Advisors INC. Reduces Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Lakeside Advisors INC. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Waste Management accounts for about 2.6% of Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Lakeside Advisors INC.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 534.5% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,344 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 2,817 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in Waste Management by 0.7% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 53,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,411,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Management by 0.6% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 358,624 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Waste Management by 83.8% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Management by 44.8% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 33,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,212 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price target for the company. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.2 %

WM stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $204.98. 1,457,303 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,623,895. The stock has a market cap of $82.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $149.71 and a fifty-two week high of $214.54. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $206.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $184.27.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 775 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.58, for a total value of $153,899.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 75,204 shares in the company, valued at $14,934,010.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,507 shares of company stock valued at $4,157,770 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.