Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.

MidWestOne Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,113 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. MidWestOne Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% in the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. HSBC upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $210.00 to $265.00 in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com raised Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $234.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.97. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $239.32. The company has a market capitalization of $94.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. The company had revenue of $6.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,491 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 19,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.71, for a total transaction of $4,303,870.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,257 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,158,100.47. The trade was a 18.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock worth $18,084,124 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.