First Manhattan CO. LLC. Has $1.41 Million Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 439 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 278,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,135,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Management by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 480,534 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $99,759,000 after acquiring an additional 28,266 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Management by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,365 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in Waste Management by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,192 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,980,000 after purchasing an additional 4,798 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Pictet & Cie SA grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA now owns 1,869,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $377,184,000 after purchasing an additional 11,940 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $705,772.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 53,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. This trade represents a 5.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Devina A. Rankin sold 4,126 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total transaction of $941,181.86. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 62,639 shares in the company, valued at $14,288,582.29. This trade represents a 6.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $233.03 on Friday. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $239.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The company has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a PE ratio of 34.27, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $228.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.15.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.75 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. HSBC upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.29.

Waste Management 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.