Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Sells 747 Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its stake in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 747 shares during the period. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $1,102,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 18,113,191 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,141,190,000 after acquiring an additional 121,055 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 7,370,481 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,156,281,000 after purchasing an additional 1,718,449 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 5,366,017 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $827,815,000 after buying an additional 776,491 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 1.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,213,330 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $794,174,000 after buying an additional 66,816 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 5,112,019 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $801,972,000 after acquiring an additional 160,466 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $213.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $85.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $200.06 and its 200-day moving average is $179.12.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 1.41%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 53.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on WM shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Waste Management from $184.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 16th. 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.47.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,096,448.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was 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 owns 29,677 shares in the company, valued at $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 30,242 shares of company stock worth $5,929,355 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.27% 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.