Greenleaf Trust Buys 1,853 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 18.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,080 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $2,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 8.5% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 28,912 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,407,000 after purchasing an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,132,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 22,662 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,455,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 93.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,348,000 after purchasing an additional 22,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 13,927.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 504,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,319,000 after purchasing an additional 500,701 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WM has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.85.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $207.12. 1,354,000 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,594,248. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.90. Waste Management, Inc. has a 52 week low of $149.71 and a 52 week high of $214.54.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 53.00%.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total transaction of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.