Schnieders Capital Management LLC Sells 9,909 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Schnieders Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 22.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,681 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,909 shares during the period. Waste Management comprises about 1.3% of Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Schnieders Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,407,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Management by 93.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,348,000 after acquiring an additional 22,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 13,927.7% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after acquiring an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total transaction of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Monday, April 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $211.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.6 %

Waste Management stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $208.77. The stock had a trading volume of 1,596,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,663,306. 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 $83.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $207.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.15.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.00%.

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.