Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Shares Sold by MADDEN SECURITIES Corp

MADDEN SECURITIES Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. MADDEN SECURITIES Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $269,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Phocas Financial Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $161,000. RB Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Management by 39.5% in the fourth quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 17,089 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,000 after purchasing an additional 4,839 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network grew its stake in Waste Management by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,843 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $760,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $1,048,000. Finally, Trinity Legacy Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Legacy Partners LLC now owns 31,203 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,895,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.48% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE:WM traded down $2.46 on Friday, hitting $153.15. The stock had a trading volume of 2,902,332 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,837,856. Waste Management, Inc. has a 1 year low of $138.89 and a 1 year high of $175.98. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.14. The stock has a market cap of $62.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.81.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.83%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.95%.

Waste Management announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the business services provider to repurchase up to 2.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James cut their price objective on Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Waste Management from $167.00 to $158.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $157.00 to $151.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $169.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total value of $120,888.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $787,283.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Leslie K. Nagy sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.11, for a total value of $120,888.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 5,210 shares in the company, valued at $787,283.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,027 shares of company stock worth $4,806,619 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.