Adirondack Trust Co. Cuts Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Adirondack Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,726 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 55 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up 0.8% of Adirondack Trust Co.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Adirondack Trust Co.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Activest Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $211.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.29. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $183.00 and a fifty-two week high of $230.39. The company has a market capitalization of $84.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WM shares. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.72.

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.