Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 417,834 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,735 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $84,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Swedbank AB grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $366,537,000 after buying an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 14.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 4,081 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 9.7% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,320 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Management by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 2,299 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM opened at $233.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $216.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $93.91 billion, a PE ratio of 34.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WM shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $235.94.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 5,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.51, for a total value of $1,304,087.32. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 55,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,646,598.37. This trade represents a 9.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. This trade represents a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock valued at $15,025,861 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.