Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 155 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $212.00. 576,591 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,657,459. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $208.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The stock has a market cap of $85.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 38.61%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the company’s 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 $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 value of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 8,889 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.46, for a total transaction of $1,844,111.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $19,804,339.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WM shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

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.