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 - Free Report) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,681 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,909 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for approximately 1.3% of Schnieders Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Schnieders Capital Management LLC's holdings in Waste Management were worth $6,032,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $896,000. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. now owns 107,700 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $19,289,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $582,000. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas lifted its position in Waste Management by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 2,985 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in Waste Management by 45.8% during the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,640 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.85.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $208.77. 1,596,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,663,306. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $207.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.15. The stock has a market cap of $83.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.89, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management, Inc. has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.28% and a return on equity of 36.51%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Waste Management

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.

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