Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 59,676 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,953 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waste Management were worth $12,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This trade represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 1,251 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.92, for a total value of $282,625.92. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 8,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,902,246.40. The trade was a 12.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $224.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $215.82. The stock has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $235.81.

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

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.53%.

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.