Bison Wealth LLC Sells 6,594 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Bison Wealth LLC reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 75.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,135 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 6,594 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $431,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total value of $29,135.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 8,491 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,045.36. This trade represents a 1.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,924 shares of company stock worth $21,298,176 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James raised their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Management from $260.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WM traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $233.97. 1,227,896 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,645,279. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $239.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $228.21 and a 200-day moving average of $220.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.08. Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. The firm had revenue of $6.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.75 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

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.