Everence Capital Management Inc. Cuts Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Everence Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 21.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,190 shares during the quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gilfoyle & Co LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. A.P. Gilfoyle & Co. L.P. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, KB Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, April 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO James C. Fish, Jr. sold 9,550 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.00, for a total value of $1,738,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 152,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,816,516. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,057 shares of company stock worth $5,895,870 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $204.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,447,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,687,320. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.90. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $82.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The business had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

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.