Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) by 37.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,958 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,442 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WM. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Hurley Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the 4th quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WM shares. CIBC raised their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Management to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Waste Management from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.29.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM traded up $1.74 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $229.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,639,125 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,659,112. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $239.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $228.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.75 EPS. The company's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's payout ratio is currently 49.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.96, for a total transaction of $29,135.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 3,094 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.11, for a total value of $705,772.34. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 53,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,241,066.93. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 79,522 shares of company stock valued at $18,084,124 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

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.