Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 11.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 727 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilfoyle & Co LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Millburn Ridgefield Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 127.3% in the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 300 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annapolis Financial Services LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 325 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total value of $363,937.86. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,353,349.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total value of $523,750.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.23, for a total transaction of $363,937.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 55,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,353,349.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Management from $221.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $216.24.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $207.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,219,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,683,213. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $149.71 and a 1 year high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The company has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $208.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $188.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

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.