Crowley Wealth Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)

Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,990 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 65.7% during the fourth quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM traded up $1.02 on Tuesday, reaching $227.26. 1,622,404 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,532,024. The firm has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.59 and a 12 month high of $235.81. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $223.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $216.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a net margin of 12.45% and a return on equity of 37.93%. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.825 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WM has been the topic of several research reports. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total value of $1,016,421.12. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 58,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,052,881.80. This represents a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

About Waste Management

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.