Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp Decreases Holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp reduced its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,064 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 530 shares during the quarter. Waste Management comprises 1.7% of Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Aull & Monroe Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Waste Management were worth $3,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aberdeen Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $857,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 6,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,366,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 3.9% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,239 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $411,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management 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 transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,999,506.30. This trade represents a 2.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,173 shares of company stock worth $17,075,967. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of WM opened at $230.55 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $214.49. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.59 and a 12-month high of $235.81. The stock has a market cap of $92.71 billion, a PE ratio of 33.90, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

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.