Sterling Investment Management LLC Sells 143 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Sterling Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,758 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 143 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WM. Courier Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Family Legacy Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Family Legacy Inc. now owns 14,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,510,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,171 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $163.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 1,782 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $11,353,349.93. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total transaction of $1,738,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,816,516. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WM stock opened at $213.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $199.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30. The company has a market capitalization of $85.93 billion, a PE ratio of 37.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.02.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

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.