Jackson Square Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Jackson Square Partners LLC lowered its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,806 shares during the period. Jackson Square Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $7,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Florida Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at about $248,000. PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $255,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 44.1% during the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 8,587 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,733,000 after acquiring an additional 2,630 shares during the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 26.9% in the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,094 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total value of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. This represents a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC lifted 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. Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM opened at $226.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $90.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $223.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.03. Waste Management, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.59 and a fifty-two week high of $235.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.